The Royal Thai Police has arrested a woman in her 30s at her home in Nonthaburi province in the country for allegedly seducing several high-ranking Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and blackmailing them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy.
The woman, Wilawan Emsawat, was arrested on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods, with the police tracing money transferred to her by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand.
A Thai woman was arrested for allegedly seducing several high-ranking Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and blackmailing them
As reported by the Thai-based portal Khaosod, Wilawan allegedly targeted senior monks for financial gain. Moreover, the police found that several monks had transferred large amounts of money to her after she initiated romantic relationships with them.
Specifically, Wilawan had received approximately THB385 million or RM50.25 million in her bank accounts in the past 3 years. However, she had spent most of the funds on online gambling websites.
For context, Buddhist monks in Thailand are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.
Thai Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner Jaroonkiet Pankaew asserted that investigations into Wilawan began in June 2025 after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
Investigations into the matter found that the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their relationship, with the suspect telling the monk that she was pregnant and asking him to pay THB7.2 million (RM940,000) in financial assistance.
Jaroonkiet stressed,
“This woman is dangerous, and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible,”
The report added that a search of Wilawan’s mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks.
Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest, but she did speak to local media before being detained, acknowledging one relationship with a monk.
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