Police gave Phra Dhammajayo until midnight Wednesday to turn himself in and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged the abbot to come forward but there was no sign early Thursday the sect founder intended to surrender.
The premier also warned the public not to pressure authorities who want to avoid a violent confrontation with the monk’s devotees.
The premier said the public should be putting pressure on those people who are refusing to comply with the law, not police officers.
“Do not pressure the authorities. You want to see them beat [each other] just after they enter the gate? Will society accept this?” Gen Prayut asked.
“The authorities must find the right moment to enter the temple. You have to expel the wrongdoer and get him to come outside so that other people will not get in trouble or get hurt.
"Just come forward and fight the case and this will end. No more fighting the case by using a huge mass of people,” he said in a message to Phra Dhammajayo.
Security remained tight at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani's Khlong Luang district on Wednesday. Only a few of the many entrance gates were open. Tens of thousands of Dhammakaya sect followers gathered in front of the gold Maha Dhammakaya Chedi to attend a prayer and apparently serve as human shields to block officials from trying to enter the temple complex and arrest the controversial abbot.
The deadline passed at a midnight after midnight for the abbot to turn himself in to face charges of money laundering and receiving stolen property in connection with the multi-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) embezzlement scandal.
There was no no indication from any quarters that the embattled abbot will report to police. Nor has there been any indication of a raid on the temple by the Department of Special Investigation. Followers claim the Dhammakaya sect founder is receiving medical treatment for an illness and has been inside the temple for months,
Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said police would take mandatory legal steps if Phra Dhammajayo failed to turn himself in within the deadline and would charge the monk serving as the temple’s acting abbot with providing shelter for a person wanted on an arrest warrant.
However, Pol Gen Srivara did not elaborate if a police force would enter the temple grounds. (Story continues below).
Security guards at Wat Phra Dhammakaya screen people and vehicles entering the temple, saying they are afraid ill-intentioned people will incite unrest inside the grounds. (Photo by Pongpat Wongyala)
The head of the DSI's special case division, Pol Maj Woranan Srilam, said earlier the temple's public relations office was told to answer by 4.30pm if Phra Dhammajayo was still inside and authorities had received no response.
“I believe 80% that Phra Dhammajayo is still in Wat Phra Dhammakaya. And 20% of me believes he might have fled,” Pol Gen Srivara said.
