A video clip of a monk fighting with a woman, circulating in social media, has been met with harsh criticism from the netizens.
The clip video, about one minute long, shows a monk and a woman hitting and slapping each other outside the monk’s living quarters at a temple in Chantha Buri province.
According to reports, people who witnessed the incident tried to stop the fight, with one of the people complaining that the monk was acting irrationally.
A voice recording attached to video clip, presumably the person taking the video, says: “They are fighting over nothing, they are not acting within reason, even the monk, I don’t know what to say.”
He referred to the monk as "Ajarn" or teacher, indicating that he might be one of the monk's followers.
Some people were also yelling and threatening to call the police if the two did not stop fighting.
The unnamed monk is highly respected by the villagers, according to several posts in online forums.
Unconfirmed sources in several reports said the woman started the fight by yelling insults at the monk and attacking him.
She is believed to be mentally ill.
Many netizens said even though the woman was the guilty party, it was unacceptable that the monk hit her back.
They believed that, whatever the reason, it is unacceptable for a man to attack a woman, especially a monk who must not touch a woman.
Some called for him to be expelled from monkhood.
Others caled for the media to investigate and find out the truth before condemning the monk. Posters said he might simply be a victim fighting back against an aggressor.