Thai Temple Left Empty As Monks Fail Drug Test, Sent For Rehabilitation

Four monks including an abbot at a temple in Phetchabun province's Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday.

A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without monks after all its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked, a local official said Tuesday.

Four monks including an abbot at a temple in Phetchabun province's Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told AFP.

The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said.

"The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making," he said.