THE senior abbot nominated to be the next Supreme Patriarch is facing a major challenge, under intense pressure from an probe by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) into a luxury car at his temple.

“This case could generate a real controversy. To ensure that the appointment of the Supreme Patriarch will be smooth, the DSI should clearly answer three questions that the public has in mind,” Paiboon Nititawan, head of a Buddhist-reform panel of the now-defunct National Reform Council, said yesterday.

He came forward to formally demand that the DSI urgently expedite its inquiry.

The DSI must determine whether the Mercedes-Benz belonging to Somdej Phra Maharatchamangkh-lachan (Chuang Varapunyo), the 80-year-old abbot of Pak Nam Temple, was illegal and how the monk acquired it.

“Also, the DSI must check whether the monk has violated any law,” he said.

Somdej Chuang is now the acting Supreme Patriarch.

Last week, the senior monk won the endorsement of the Supreme Sangha Council to become the top Sangha head in Thailand.

However, the nomination has drawn opposition from various figures including Phra Buddha Isara, who lodged a complaint with the DSI in 2013 calling for an investigation into the car affair amid speculation it might have been the subject of tax evasion.

Pol Major Worranan Srilum, head of the DSI’s Special Case Management Centre, said the Benz was definitely among the “super cars” under scrutiny.

“We are in the process of seeking information from the Customs Department,” he said.

Benz among many cars being checked

The DSI has been checking thousands of cars including the one owned by the senior monk on suspicion that they might have evaded taxes through false claims that they were assembled in Thailand.

Cars assembled in the country are generally subject to a far lower tax rate than imported vehicles.

Somdej Chuang had stopped using the Benz and put it in a museum, he added.

Paiboon said that if the DSI cleared the monk’s name, lingering doubts over his suitability as the new spiritual leader should dissipate.

“But if the investigation finds he broke laws, I expect him to make a good decision for the sake of Buddhism,” he said.

In the meantime he will today call on the Ombudsman to determine whether the Supreme Sangha Council had the authority to name the new Supreme Patriarch.

“According to the letter of the law, it sounds like the Supreme Sangha Council has the mandate to approve or disapprove of a nomination only,” he said.

PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said he had yet to talk with Pranom Sonsill, director of the National Buddhism Office, about any plan to forward Somdej Chuang’s name for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha’s endorsement.

“But I have asked the Bureau to explore how to ease the conflict that looks set to arise,” he said.

The senior monk had both supporters and opponents, he said.

The post of Supreme Patriarch has been vacant since Somdej Phra Nyanasamvara passed away in 2013.