Monk Keeps Robes After Suspicious Snaps Go Viral

Takeo Province: A photo was leaked of a monk, apparently hugging a young woman, which caused a scandal among Buddhists on Facebook.

According to the Facebook account of Panha Udommony, the story was of a monk named Heng Pheap who lived at Wat Por. After the photo was leaked, it came to the attention of the sub-district teacher at Tram Kak, Takeo province and the Department of Cults and Religions- who came to solve the problem on July 15, 2021.

After discussing the case for an hour, the sub-teacher finally decided to send Heng Pheap to perform Patimok studies for three months and to allow him to return to the pagoda after completion.

The monk Heng Pheap stated that he did not hug the woman in the room, but outside the pagoda, and this act was just a show of friendship with the woman.

However, after realizing that the was not disrobed like others caught in similar circumstances, some members of the public were outraged. CEN