A soulless thief stole thousands of pounds from a Buddhist temple to go on a hooker spending spree.<br /><br />Somchai Laikhao, 48, admitted raiding the monks' sleeping quarters and stealing 200,000 Baht in cash - almost 5,000 GBP - that had been raised to repair a roof.<br /><br />A ceremonial sword and several lucky amulets were also missing when religious leaders contacted police in Pattaya, Thailand, last Friday (August 14).<br /><br />They identified the suspect and Somchai was found passed out on a barber's chair on Sunday afternoon (August 16) following two days of partying.<br /><br />He allegedly confessed to stealing the cash and spending it on bar girls and prostitutes in the seedy nightlife resort, which has been devoid of tourists due to the pandemic. <br /><br />Somchai had even bought one grateful sex worker a 30,000 baht (730GBP) gold necklace - though he had lost her phone number to retrieve it. <br /><br />Facing the victims at the police station, he said that the ceremonial knife had been confiscated by a nightclub bouncer and he had sold the amulets.<br /><br />He said: ''I don't remember how I spent the money, but I bought a lot of drinks for people and gave a lot away to girls.''<br /><br />Monks from the Huay Yai temple in Chonburi province said they would forgive the thief.<br /><br />The temple abbot Phra Somjet said the cash was intended for the repair of the pavilion but it had gone missing from the monks sleeping quarters.<br /><br />Phra Somjet said it would be hard to retrieve the money now that the thief had already spent it at bars and sold the amulets.<br /><br />The Buddhist priest said: "It may be difficult for him to return the money. We are fine if he spent it on his family's living expenses, but instead he used it for pleasure. I hope that those who received the money will have a good conscience and hand it in. If not, I hope it supports their families and helps them.''<br /><br />Police Colonel Nithat Waewpradab said they will check the evidences including the CCTV footage from bars that shows how Somchai paid in cash. <br /><br />They said: "The suspect admitted stealing the monkey but he will be further questioned at the police station to know exactly where it has all gone.''
