Sex scandal

RESIDENTS of Kandal province’s Muk Kampoul district have requested the removal of the chief abbot at a local pagoda, accusing him of carrying on an affair with a local woman.

The chief abbot at Wat Thmei was reportedly spotted leaving the woman’s house at around 3am on Sunday. In response, 500 villagers thumbprinted a complaint submitted at the pagoda claiming the abbot had engaged in trysts with the woman on numerous occasions.

Wat Thmei committee director Hang Troeun said officials had met yesterday to discuss the allegations, and would refer the case to the Ministry of Cults and Religion for a final decision.

Wat Thmei village chief Kim Chhorn claimed to have discovered the accused abbot on a recent evening with two women at a house near the pagoda.

“I flashed my light against him and asked him, ‘Why did you come here?’, and he responded, ‘I came to call these local residents to do good deeds at the pagoda,’” Kim Chhorn said.

The abbot could not be reached for comment.