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Reuters

A former Buddhist monk who sparked outrage in Thailand over his lavish lifestyle and is already serving time for fraud was sentenced to a further 16 years in prison on Wednesday for abducting and raping a child.
Wirapol Sukphol, formerly known by his monastic name of Luang Pu Nenkham, was sentenced in August to 114 years in prison after a court found him guilty of fraud, money laundering and computer crimes.
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He will only serve 20 years on those charges because that is the maximum for someone found guilty of multiple counts of the same offence.
He was seen in a YouTube video in 2013 holding wads of cash on a private jet. The same year, he was accused of having sex with an underage girl and was expelled from the monkhood.

He fled to the United States and was extradited back to Thailand last year.
“He raped a 13-year-old child and abducted her from her grandmother, but he denied it,” said Thanyanit Nitikrainon, a legal officer from the office of the attorney general who attended the court hearing.
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“The court found him guilty of both offences, sentencing him to eight years for each.”
Neither Wirapol nor his lawyer were available for comment.
Wirapol’s high-profile cases have highlighted a series of sex and money scandals that have rocked Thailand’s Buddhist institution in recent years, resulting in calls for reforms of religious institutions.
The military government that came to power after a 2014 coup has stepped up efforts to clean up Buddhism by arresting monks involved in corruption and scrutinising temple finances.


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Thailand

Ex-Buddhist monk who scandalised Thailand with lavish lifestyle convicted of child rape

Ex-monk Wirapol Sukphol is escorted to the prosecutor's office in Bangkok in 2017. Photo: AP

epa07098784 Former Thai Buddhist monk Wiraphon Sukphon, or Nen Kham, arrives at a criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, 17 October 2018. Thai criminal court on 17 October will come to a decision the case of Nen Kham, who is charged with allegedly having sex with an under aged girl, who was 15 years old in 2013, then fleeing to the US. The notorious former monk, who appeared in a 2013 YouTube video showing him on a private jet with luxury sunglasses and a designer bag, was extradited from California, USA on July 2017 for to face charges on money laundering and fraud, having sex with an underage girl, and child abduction. EPA-EFE/NARONG SANGNAK

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Case is the latest in a series of sex and money scandals that have rocked Thailand’s Buddhist institution in recent years


Ex-Buddhist monk who scandalised Thailand with lavish lifestyle convicted of child rape

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Case is the latest in a series of sex and money scandals that have rocked Thailand’s Buddhist institution in recent years

Case is the latest in a series of sex and money scandals that have rocked Thailand’s Buddhist institution in recent years