A Kandal provincial judge yesterday jailed an alleged imposter monk accused of walking the streets of Takhmao town donning a saffron robe and shaved head and collecting donations.

“He was officially charged for posing as a Buddhist monk,” said Takhmao police chief Sim Buth Dandith. “If he is found guilty, he will be punished with imprisonment from seven days to three months.”

Police caught on to the alleged activities of Tor Sovann, 21, after villagers, who recognised him and were offended by his use of Buddhism as a tool to scam people, reported him to police, Buth Dandith said.

Sovann, who grew up an orphan and has no occupation or home, typically ambled around area markets and villages, collecting donations of money and food from unsuspecting villagers, Buth Dandith added.

Police trailed Sovann and an accomplice to a Takhmao pagoda on Wednesday, where they arrested him after he initially tried to flee on a motorbike. He will stay in custody until his trial.