NAKHON PHANOM: The Nakhon Phanom Court yesterday approved arrest warrants for five people accused of helping the fugitive former assistant abbot of Wat Samphanthawong to evade a police manhunt.
The court's approval followed a request by provincial police after national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda ordered the northeastern police force to gather evidence to justify the warrants.
The five suspects comprise two Thais and three Lao nationals.
The Thai suspects are Sasiorn Jiamwijitkul, 54, a close disciple of the ex-monk better known by her nickname "Joom", and Peerawich Srisattha, 28, a close aide to the former Phra Phrom Methee.
According to information from the Immigration Bureau, Ms Sasiorn took an Eva Air flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport to London on Tuesday.
The three Lao nationals, who are still on the run, were identified as Chantana Lattanavong, as well as her son identified as Noi and her daughter Jittima.
All are wanted for aiding and giving shelter to the former monk when he evaded arrest during a raid at the temple on May 24. They could be fined up to 4,000 baht or imprisoned for up to two years if found guilty under Section 189 of the Criminal Code.
A police source said Ms Sasiorn is a major shareholder of several SET-listed firms and her husband runs a mining business in Laos.
Ms Chanthana is a Lao businesswoman who owns several businesses including resorts in both Laos and Thailand as well as shipping businesses along the Mekong River, the source added.
Nakhon Phanom police chief Pol Maj Gen Suwichan Yankittikul said provincial police were ready to act on the arrest warrants but refused to go into details.
The former assistant abbot, whose layman's name is Chamnong Iamnitra, was detained in Frankfurt, Germany and is reportedly applying for asylum there.
Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Charnthep Saesawet yesterday confirmed that Pol Gen Chakthip had returned from Frankfurt alone on Wednesday, leaving other officers to try and bring him back to face temple fund embezzlement charges.
The former assistant abbot fled the temple in Bangkok in a van to Phitsanulok and then to Renu Nakhon in Nakhon Phanom.
He crossed the Mekong River to Laos before travelling to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where he took a Qatar Airways flight to Frankfurt.
On May 24, police from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) raided Wat Samphanthawong, Wat Sa Ket and Wat Sam Phraya in Bangkok, looking to arrest seven senior monks suspected of involvement in the embezzlement scandal, including the then-Phra Phrom Methee.
Five were arrested during the raids while former Wat Sa Ket abbot Phra Phrom Sitthi turned himself in to CSD police later.
Wat Dhammakaya's communication department yesterday rejected media reports that Phra Phrom Methee was seeking refuge at the temple's branch in Germany.
Meanwhile, Pol Maj Gen Kamol Rienracha, chief of the police force's Counter Corruption Division, said yesterday police were examining the allocation of grants for temples provided by the National Office of Buddhism in the fourth and latest round of probes into the temple fund embezzlement scandal.
