Abbot faces charge after mob crushes woman
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NUCHAREE RAKRUN
Nakhon Si Thammarat _ An abbot will be charged with carelessness in the death of
a woman trampled beneath a crowd stampeding to buy Jatukarm Ramathep amulets
yesterday.
About 100 people were also injured as several thousand people who had been
waiting outside rushed the gates of a school compound when they opened, vying to
place orders for the limited number of amulets available.
The 51-year-old victim, Peun Kongpet, was caught up in the crowd. She fainted in
the crush, collapsed and was trampled.
The jostling mob also damaged the walls and gates during the chaos at Nakhon Si
Thammarat Technical College in Muang district.
Police battled to preserve order, and finally shut down the sale.
Provincial police chief Pol Maj-Gen Sutjai Yanarat said a charge would be filed
against Phra Maha Maitri, abbot of Wat Phranakhon, who was in charge of making
the amulets.
Bookings for the talismans were taken at three venues in downtown Nakhon Si
Thammarat yesterday. Each venue was overcrowded and traffic jams blocked nearby
roads.
Many people had queued up at the college since late Sunday night and loudly
expressed dissatisfaction when they learned the sale was cancelled.
It was the second attempt to allow people to place orders for the new collection
of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets, called Ngern Lai Ma (Money Pouring-in). The first
round, on March 16, also ended in chaos.
The temple wants to use the amulet sales revenue for the construction of a
school for monks at Wat Phramahathat, where relics of the Lord Buddha are kept.
Jatukarm Ramathep is the guardian god of the relics. The talisman is believed to
bring wearers good luck and this has driven a public craze for it.
The popular talismans recently led to two suspected burglars being shot dead
while breaking into houses allegedly to steal them.
Phra Maha Maitri blamed yesterday's chaos on groups of teenagers hired to place
orders for the amulets, which could later be sold at inflated prices.
''They were hot-tempered and did not follow the rules,'' the monk said.
Religious Affairs Department chief Preecha Kantiya said the private sector and
temples would be asked to put a halt on amulet making while ways were found to
prevent the chaos from recurring.
bkkp