A former Buddhist monk in Thailand has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for misusing donations to a hospice that cared for HIV and Aids patients.
Alongkot Poonmook, who was known in the monkhood as Phra Ratcha Wisutthiprachanat, founded and led the hospice at Wat Phra Bat Namphu temple in Lopburi province. He was arrested in 2025 and forced to leave the monkhood.
On Wednesday, a court found Alongkot guilty of embezzlement and money laundering. He was initially sentenced to 742 years in prison, but Thai law automatically reduced this to the maximum of 50 years. His associate, Seksan Sapsubbsakul, who worked as a fundraiser, received more than 386 years reduced to 50 years.
Both men were ordered to repay more than 300 million baht, equivalent to about £7 million, to the hospice.
The hospice was established in 1992 as a pioneering humanitarian project but became less central to its mission after antiretroviral drugs became widely available to treat HIV. Alongkot later expanded it to serve people with other serious illnesses. The temple also runs charities that fund education for underprivileged children in the area.
The case has damaged the reputation of the temple, which is deeply respected in Thailand. Buddhist temples in the country often receive large donations from worshippers seeking to make religious merit, and Thailand has seen several cases of senior monks accused of mishandling temple funds. Questions about the hospice's finances emerged online and triggered an investigation.
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