Former monk Warakorn Kongu-tit found himself under the arclights, not for his spiritual practices, but for his dubious business operations which landed him in hot water. The 46-year-old former practitioner turned entrepreneur was nabbed in Phang Khon district’s lively night market, nestled in the gentle curves of northeast Sakon Nakhon province, for defrauding unsuspecting customers of a staggering 10 million baht through his online religious artifact business.
Warakorn ingeniously blended his religious background with commerce to ensnare spiritual seekers looking for authentic Buddhist relics. However, these seekers, who emanated from monasteries and temples nationwide, soon found themselves embroiled in a distressing scam. Warakorn would pull the plug on all communication, leaving the pious individuals distraught over their substantial cumulative losses.
The audacity of his deceit had become a thorn in the side of authorities. Warakorn’s misconduct went beyond creating false Facebook handles, each more fanciful than the last – Petch Charoen Sangkapan Wholesale/Retail, Petch Charoen Sangkaphan, and Petch Charoen Sangkaphan Partners Limited – for his unsavory operations. A sneak peek into his police record threw light on outstanding arrest warrants stacking up in provinces like Phitsanulok, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Roi Et, Chumphon, and Bangkok.
What led Warakorn, a once devout monk in his younger days and a highly-educated individual who held an essential role in his previous media job, to deviate so drastically? Severe financial dors and the added strain of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis may indeed have nudged him onto this path of deceit. His misdemeanors started gaining momentum in 2019, a year after he had ventured out of his media job to set up Petch Charoen Sangkapan Limited, an artifact shop based in the Nong Khaem district of Bangkok.
These illicit gains, which amounted to over 10 million baht, were spent on mundane needs, online gambling, and paying for lodging. Warakorn’s meticulously conducted scam counted three to four victims weekly, leading to losses ranging from a few hundred to 30,000 baht per victim.
Upon arrest, Warakorn was brought to Tung Khao Luang Police Station in Roi Et province, thus commencing the official proceedings of the case. Officers did a fair bit of coordination with police stations country-wide reporting similar complaints, pooling together pertinent evidence for an arrest warrant.
Their relentless work eventually paid off, bringing Warakorn’s operations to a grinding halt. The prevalence of such heinous crimes and frauds serves as a stark reminder to ever-vigilant Buddhists, monks, and citizens nationwide to stay wary and report any suspicious activities via the ‘Investigate IDMB Metropolitan’ page accessible round the clock. Although the damages may seem inconsequential, swift action taken can nip such fraudulent activities in the bud, aligning perfectly with the strict policies of Police Lieutenant General Damrongsak Kittiprapas and Police Lieutenant Colonel Thiti Saengsawang.
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