A deputy abbot of a temple in Saraburi was defrocked on Monday after police arrested him for allegedly trying to rape a 70-year-old woman.
Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police arrested Bumrung Chanthawong, 74, the deputy abbot of Wat Ban Don in Wihan Daeng district, on Monday.
Thongchai Yooket, the CSD Division 1 chief, said the man was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Nonthaburi Court last year for trying to rape a 70-year-old woman in Pak Kret district in the same year.
Police tracked his movements, and believed he sought to evade the warrant by becoming a monk at the temple, Pol Col Thongchai added.
Mr Bumrung denied the charge and said he was forced to enter the monkhood for his own safety after the alleged victim's relatives threatened his life.
