Having failed to turn himself into the DSI in accordance with a previous summons, Phra Sanitwong can be arrested on sight, he added.

The move, under the Criminal Code’s Section 116, followed the reported death of assistant pharmacist Pattana Chiangraeng, 48, due to an asthma attack inside the temple. Dhammakaya monks including Phra Sanitwong claimed her death was because an ambulance was stopped by authorities and could not reach her in time.

However, government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd has said the ambulance was called for in the afternoon but an initial post mortem of Pattana’s body determined that she had died at about 9am, adding that blame related to the ambulance was a distortion of the facts.

Meanwhile, Pattana’s elder sister Sirinya Khamjeen, who went with relatives to the Thammasat Hospital morgue where the body is being kept, said Pattana had been sick since February 15, adding that she had tried to visit her on Tuesday but was not allowed inside the temple compound, so she had returned to her hometown Phayao.

She added that Pattana, who had worked at the temple’s infirmary for almost 30 years, did not have asthma. “If the phone signal wasn’t cut, my sister would still be alive,” she said.

Deputy police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said the Thammasat Hospital medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Pattana concluded that she died from a lung infection, but did not elaborate on the time of death. He said the examiner issued the death certificate so that the family could notify authorities about the death.

However, DSI spokesman Woranan said Pattana’s death was initially determined to have resulted from uncertain causes. DSI officers also brought members of the media to inspect Pattana’s room behind the temple yesterday.

Meanwhile, it was reported that an increasing number of people inside the temple compound have been showing signs of ill health, with doctors on the scene calling for ambulances via the centralised emergency hotline 1669.

Temple disciple meets officers

Regarding summonses issued for three lay people who allegedly obstructed officers’ enforcement of the junta order declaring the temple a controlled zone, Woranan said a key temple disciple, Ai Petchthong, had met officers on Wednesday and was released on the same night.

Ai was told not to become involved with protests staged by Dhammakaya supporters and to avoid the protest site at Klong Luang Market. He is scheduled to meet officers for an indictment at Thanyaburi Court on March 2.

The two others, Kotchakorn Chaiwan and Phayung Oonahit, had until today to surrender before officers would file a police complaint against them, Woranan added.

He said the junta order backed by the powerful Article 44 of the interim charter authorised officers to apprehend wanted persons at any time.

In the meantime, political activist Sombat Boonngamanong posted on his Facebook page that army officers had asked him to stop expressing opinions about Dhammakaya Temple being cordoned off and threatened him with a summons.

“Half of the country is talking about the Dhammakaya case. Why do you have a problem with me?” he wrote, citing another post that said “the only person who can order me to shut my mouth is a dentist”.

Sombat said earlier this week that authorities’ move to block phone coverage would not help the search for Phra Dhammachayo. He added that 20,000 soldiers should be deployed to search the entire compound in a single day, after which everyone should withdraw and leave monks and lay people to resume their normal activities.