BANGKOK, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A royal decree stripping of the monastic rank of Thailand's wanted monk, the former abbot of the country's biggest temple, has hit the headlines of Thai media on Monday.
The media buzz comes after an announcement of Thailand's royal gazette on Sunday night, in which King Maha Vajiralongkorn has agreed to demote Phra Dhammachayo on ground that he had not turned himself in and cooperate with authorities on several charges against him.
The 72-year old monk, the spiritual leader of the influential buddhist temple Dhammakaya, was accused of money laundering, receiving stolen assets and illegally using land to build mediation centers.
He refused to show up and surrender to all the charges, claiming too ill to present himself in the court. He was reportedly last seen in the public since last May.
Thai government has invoked section 44, known as the junta's special power, to search for the fugitive monk across the temple. But the operation has been hampered by thousands of his followers.
The royal command said what the monk has done has made him unfit to hold the ecclesiastic rank of Thep, one of the most important royal distinctions of Thai Buddhism, which was awarded to him in 2011.
The demotion means the former abbot cannot use his ecclesiastics title any more and is now an ordinary monk in the hierarchy of Thai Buddhism. Yet he is not defrocked until the Sangha Council takes up such a step.
This could be the first royal move to demote the religious rank of an influential buddhism figure since King Maha Vajiralongorn took his throne in last December. Observers say the demotion could pave the way for junta government to arrest the monk. The government has launched the siege with thousands of military and police for two weeks but still failed to get the warrant.
The public relation sector of the temple refused to comment on what happened during the past two days, saying it's "too subtile".
