Pongporn Pramsaneh met with Phra Theprattana Suthee, abbot of Kienket Temple, who is the chief monk in Pathum Thani where Dhammakaya is located.

He said he followed up his earlier requests for Phra Theprattana Suthee to consider punishment for fugitive former abbot Phra Dhammachayo, who is wanted on criminal charges including money laundering.

The director quoted Phra Theprattana as saying that he already asked the acting abbot of Dhammakaya Temple about Phra Dhammachayo’s whereabouts and the monk responded that he could not locate him. Therefore, according to monastic rules, nothing could be done on the issue, as he would have to talk to Phra Dhammachayo in person.

Phra Theprattana also turned down the director’s recommendation that a monk with no affiliation to the temple should be appointed to lead it to help with an investigation into the temple’s assets.

The monk said appointment of an outsider could cause big conflicts in the temple, so he resorted to a softer approach by allowing the present acting abbot to continue working until his tenure finishes on December 5. Until then Phra Theprattana Sutee himself would help supervise the temple’s affairs.

After that, the chief monks in the province would consider the choice of a new abbot.

Forums in three Southern provinces launched on Monday morning as planned, without any trouble from opposition groups.

Nevertheless, Prasitchai Nu-nuan, a prominent activist opposed to the coal-fired power plant proposed for Krabi, stated that only information from the authorities had been put for discussion at the forum. He warned that if the government continued to control public opinion in this way, conflict would be inevitable.

He announced that opposition groups would deliver a statement after the public forum concluded in the evening.

Meanwhile a parallel forum held by the Save Andaman from Coal Network, EnlawThai and Greenpeace was held simultaneously at the Thammasart Association to discuss solutions for the South’s energy problems with Strategic Environment Assessment.

But the bunny girl uniform does not resemble that of Play Boy girls. Instead, the waitresses simply wear tight a long-sleeved white shirt with a short black skirt and pink bunny ears over their head.

Many patrons have posted selfie shots with the bunny waitresses on their Facebook walls, which has brought more curious customers to the shop.

The shop is located on a soi beside Nong Hoi Market off Jai Kaew Road in Tambon Nong Hoi in Chiang Mai’s Muang district.

The shop owner, Kanchana Boonprasert, 30, said the shop is open from 9.30am to 8pm. She said the shop serves coffee and other drinks.

She decided to have the shop feature waitresses in cosplay costumes because she believes it is unprecedented.

She denied the shop also sell drinks to the waitresses as in cocktail lounges.

She said her waitresses are university students who do it as a part-time job. At the moment, there are 10 of them at a time and each girl must have her own strategy to entice patrons to return to the shop, Kanchana added.

The idea was conceived after Thailand was named among 23 countries with the best street food in the world by CNN, and fried mussels were picked as one of the three most popular Thai street foods by the World Street Food Congress.

TAT Governor Yutthasak Suphasorn said on Sunday that the agency wanted to stimulate tourism during the low-season hence it will promote fried mussels as one of the dishes at the Thai Food Festival held from March 31 to April 2.

Twenty selected famous fried mussel restaurants will set up booths on Khao San Road. Tourists can try, post or share their photos with the dish on social media, he said.

The TAT will also present the history of fried mussels and the cooking process involved.