New Monastic Law in the works as government moves to punish rogue monks and restore faith in Buddhism
The Thai government is pushing forward with a new Monastic Act to impose stricter penalties, including prison terms and heavy fines, on monks who violate religious discipline.
Mongkol Surasajja, President of the Senate, on Monday chaired a parliamentary session in which the crisis of public trust in Buddhism was brought to the fore. The issue was raised by Senator Parinya Wongcherdkwan, who questioned the government on how it plans to address the rising number of misconduct cases involving senior monks.
The matter was addressed by Suchart Tancharoen, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, on behalf of the government.
Parinya strongly criticised the deterioration of Buddhist monastic discipline, noting that while past scandals mostly involved junior monks, today's issues extend to senior clerics and even royal-grade monks. These cases, he said, are seriously damaging the image of Buddhism and deeply upsetting Thai Buddhists.
Parinya raised four key questions for the government:
1. What plans are in place to collaborate with the Sangha Supreme Council in tackling the issue?
2. What action will be taken against rogue monks (“samis”) engaged in sexual misconduct and embezzlement?
3. What is the long-term plan for auditing temple finances?
4. Will the government push forward a Monastic Protection Act that criminalises monks who disgrace the faith?
In response, Suchart revealed that the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) has been instructed to work more proactively, including gathering information from local administrative bodies and communities—who are often aware of misconduct such as temple fund embezzlement or sexual relationships involving monks—cases that the NOB previously failed to detect.
Regarding disciplinary control over monks, Suchart explained that the current system is overseen by the Sangha Supreme Council. However, there is no legal mechanism to directly punish monks for sexual misconduct or prosecute laywomen (“sikas”) involved in such acts. Therefore, the government is urgently drafting a new Monastic Act that would introduce criminal penalties, including prison terms and fines of tens to hundreds of thousands of baht for monks who violate their vows. If a laywoman is found to have coerced or lured a monk into misconduct, she may be prosecuted under existing criminal laws.
Suchart added that drafting of the new legislation has already begun and is expected to be submitted within 3–4 months. The law may also include stricter controls on solicitation and donations. In parallel, the Sangha Supreme Council has issued a new ministerial regulation—effective from 1 October—requiring all temples to deposit donation funds into bank accounts located within their district. Temples will be banned from holding more than 100,000 baht in cash and will be required to maintain formal accounting records of income and expenses—measures aimed at restoring public trust and tightening oversight.
