The court also ordered Apirat to return the money to the temple, plus interest, reports the Bangkok Post.
The ruling was delivered at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Rd at 9:30am in response to a lawsuit filed by prosecutors and the temple’s acting abbot against Apirat.
According to the suit, the alleged theft occurred between 2021 and 2022 when the suspect lied to the monk, claiming he needed money to pay for temple repairs and workers’ wages.
The Crown Property Bureau transferred 78.5 million baht to the temple’s account, which was intended to build Wat Wachira Thamma Ram in Ayutthaya, one of Wat Bowon Niwet’s branches, among other projects.
The money was placed in the temple’s saving account to earn interest, and the amount later grew to B80.1mn
After obtaining the late abbot’s authorisation, Apirat withdrew the money and transferred it to his personal accounts.
The theft came to light after Somdej Phra Wannarat died on March 15 last year, and the temple’s committee filed a complaint with police accusing Apirat of embezzling more than 190 million baht from the temple in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok and its branches upcountry.
Apirat was arrested on March 23 last year at a condominium in Bangkok, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office seized 14 assets worth B92mn linked to Apirat and four others, including condominiums worth B21mn, a Bentley car valued at B15mn, a Porsche worth B6.9mn and a B3.1mn Tesla.
On Tuesday, the court found him guilty of two counts of forgery and handed him a combined 10-year sentence with an order to return the B80mn.
Kurt | 02 March 2023 - 08:40:06