Re: No one immune from the hired gun

Dispute with politician cited in monk's murder
Published in The Nation on Sep 18 , 2005

Nakhon Pathom - A Buddhist abbot was shot dead today while presiding
over religious rites for the Buddhist sabbath.

Abbot Boonlert Paripunno, 59, was shot in the head while blessing merit
makers at Wat Botakua in Nakhon Pathom province.

Police said he was known to be involved in a dispute over rights to the
temple's land and was in conflict with a local politician.

Phra Ploen Paripunno, a 79-year-old monk who witnessed the shooting,
said the murderer hid at the back of the pavilion being used for the
ceremonies and shot the abbot through a mirror window before escaping
on a motorcycle.

Maj General Kasem Sangkhapan, commander of Nakhon Pathom provincial
police, said the abbot's murder could have resulted from his
involvement in a dispute over Wat Botakua's land rights and his
conflict with a local politician.

The abbot, who survived an assassination attempt last year, won a
lawsuit recently in his dispute over the temple's land.
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There always seems to a politician in the wings.

Sandy
Huay Khwaang

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