Former Buddhist monk who founded AIDS hospice has been convicted of embezzlement

BANGKOK -- A former Buddhist monk in Thailand was convicted Wednesday of misusing donations to a highly praised hospice he established for people with HIV/AIDS and given the maximum term of 50 years in prison.

Alongkot Poonmook, formerly known as Phra Ratcha Wisutthiprachanat, was forced to leave the monkhood after he was arrested last year along with an associate, Seksan Sapsubbsakul, who served as a fundraiser for the project.

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases found both men guilty on multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering.

Some Buddhist temples in Thailand are extremely wealthy because worshippers donate large amounts as a way of making religious merit, and the country has seen cases of senior monks being accused of misappropriating temple funds. The case has drawn widespread attention since questions about the handling of funds for the hospice emerged online and prompted an investigation.

The court sentenced Alongkot to a cumulative 742 years in prison, while Seksan received more than 386 years, but those sentences were automatically reduced to the legal maximum of 50 years.

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The men were also ordered to return more than 300 million baht (about $9 million) to the hospice at Wat Phra Bat Namphu temple in the central province of Lopburi, where Alongkot had served as abbot. The temple has long been a revered institution in Thailand, where the majority of the population are Buddhist, but its image has been dented by the financial scandal.

Alongkot's hospice was considered a pioneering humanitarian project when it was established in 1992, but it became less relevant after the development and distribution of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV.

Alongkot later expanded the hospice to offer treatment to people suffering from other serious ailments. The temple also runs various charities providing funding for the education of underprivileged children.