THE CONTROVERSIAL abbot of Phra Dhammakaya Temple has seven days to turn himself in or face arrest, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief said yesterday, after an arrest warrant was approved by the court yesterday.

The warrant was issued after Phra Dhammachayo failed to report himself to the DSI on three occasions in connection with charges of money laundering and ill-gotten wealth.

DSI director general Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said the agency would shortly issue guidelines to enforce the arrest warrant against the abbot.

Phra Dhammachayo’s lawyer said he has not yet informed the abbot of the warrant, as he is still sick.

The court yesterday spent hours deliberating the DSI request while the abbot’s lawyer said the temple was preparing to lodge a complaint with the court to oppose the move.

The DSI’s previous attempts to get the court’s approval for the arrest warrant had failed.

The DSI said it needed to request an arrest warrant again because the abbot had not cooperated with officials investigating the charges against him. Meanwhile, an image of the abbot making merit inside the temple near Bangkok has gone viral on social media, suggesting the monk’s health condition was not so critical that he was unable to answer the DSI summons.

However, Samphan Sermcheep, Phra Dhammachayo’s lawyer, insisted that the abbot is seriously ill and he has no intention of fleeing as feared by the DSI. Asked why the abbot did not get himself admitted to a hospital, he said the temple has in-house medical-care facilities and doctors to take care of the monk. He said the DSI officials should serve the charges in the temple.

Phra Sanidwong Wuttiwangso, the head of Dhammakaya Temple’s communications office, said the picture showing the abbot making merit was taken on May 3 and that the abbot could not walk hence he had used a vehicle to perform the task. He said Phra Dhammachayo’s health condition had started to worsen on April 22 this year due to sudden and acute blockage of blood vessels in one of his legs, resulting in severe pain.

Suffering ‘side-effects of medication’

The abbot could not sleep at the temple hence he was moved to the in-house clinic, named Saha Ratanavej, which is situated inside the temple compound. The clinic also serves the general public as well as monks and other temple personnel.

Since Monday, he said, the abbot has suffered from the side-effects of blood vessel medication and complications from diabetes and allergies hence doctors had advised him to rest for two months.

Dhammakaya Temple said it would take legal action against those who had distributed the images of the abbot to mislead the public about the monk’s health condition.

Sanidwong said DSI officials were welcome to serve the charges against the abbot in the temple compound but the mass media would not be allowed to go inside the |medical facilities.

Meanwhile, Ong-art Thamnita, spokesperson for Dhammakaya Temple’s disciples, said the abbot had not left the temple as alleged by some people. In addition, doctors had not allowed the abbot to walk to avoid worsening his health condition resulting from the sudden blockage of blood |vessels in one of his legs.

The spokesperson said disciples were not surprised by the DSI move to seek court approval for the warrant but they hoped the court would consider the case fairly. He said the DSI should have sent doctors to check the abbot’s condition. Some disciples have lodged a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission against the DSI and its top officials for “maliciously causing harm” to the abbot plus other “offences”. The temple may also ask disciples in other provinces to lodge complaints with the NACC.