“Sextape, money and saffron dresses”
This sex scandal splashes the Thai Buddhist clergy
A woman, nicknamed “Mrs. Golf”, is accused of having achieved sextapes with monks and having extorted millions of francs to them.
According to “The Guardian”, “Ms. Golf” would have used these videos to blackmail certain influential monks, in exchange for silence or financial favors.
IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
- Investigators discovered thousands of photos and compromising videos of Thai Buddhist monks at the home of a woman, nicknamed “Mrs. Golf”.
- This woman, at the heart of the sex scandal, received more than 10 million euros and gifts from many religious.
- It was charged with money laundering, concealment of property from religious funds and violation of the cybercrime law.
Among the most serious crises that the clergy have known Buddhist Thai, the case now nicknamed “Ms. Golf ”mixes sex, money, spiritual power and blackmail. At the heart of the scandal: a woman who has had sex with several high -ranking monks, while receiving luxurious gifts from their part and transfers of dubious origin.
The case begins last month, when the police are launching an investigation into the suspicious disappearance of a monk suspected of corruption. It is during this investigation that the authorities were interested in Wilawan Emsawat, nicknamed “Ms. Golf”, whose name appears several times in telephone exchanges.
Thousands of compromising documents
During a search at his home, investigators discovered several mobile phones containing thousands of explicit photos and videos. We clearly see monks, sometimes in saffron dress, engaged in sexual acts, easily identifiable in the image. These first elements, reported by the “Thai Examiner», Top the case in a completely different dimension.
Wilawan Emsawat, nicknamed “Ms. Golf” and 35, was arrested on July 15 at her home in the province of Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok.
DR
Wilawan Emsawat, 35, was then arrested on July 15 at his home in the province of Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok. She is known on the networks under the pseudonym “Sika Golf”, Sika being the term used by the monks to designate a secular woman, recalls the “Bangkok Post». It is more commonly called “Ms. Golf” by the Thai press.
Trapped monks
According to “The Guardian“,” Ms. Golf “would have used these videos to blackmail certain influential monks, in exchange for silence or financial favors. If this point is not explicitly formulated in the Thai press, it is corroborated by the testimonies of investigators cited by the British daily.
To date, the police announce the involvement of 19 monks, including nine upper bonzes, who had to abandon the saffron color dress after the revelation of the recordings.
Other figures would be affected. The “Thai examine” warns: “Of course, the scandal is far from over. The investigation widens day by day. ” Several temples across the country are now in the viewfinder of the investigators.
Serial resignations
By ricochet, a dozen religious personalities have resigned in recent weeks, in direct connection with the case, according to concordant sources in the Thai press.
And according to “Thai examine”, in reaction, the National Buddhism Office has announced its intention to criminalize sexual relations between monks and lay people, which were so far only prohibited by the internal rules of monasticism. A sentence of up to seven years in prison could now be applied to the two parties concerned.
A several million scandal
According to “The Guardian”, 10.4 million Swiss francs were filed on the accounts of “Ms. Golf” between 2022 and 2025, or more than 390 million baht. Some sums would come from diverted donations, others from suspicious real estate transactions.
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Without being entitled to her trial, “Ms. Golf” was charged for money laundering, concealment of property from religious funds and violation of the cybercrime law. The Department of Special Investigation also plans to reclassify the file as an organized crime, which would allow the field of prosecution to be expanded and associate any accomplices.
In an article entitled “Sex, Money and Saffron Dresses: Thai Monasteries’ Darkest Hour”, “Khaosod English» describes the scandal by the terms “sextape, money and saffron dresses” and describes it as “the darkest hour of Thai monastic”. The shock is deep in a society where the clergy retains a central place in social and political life.
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