On October 14, 2026, a group of disciples filed a formal complaint with Thailand's Crime Suppression Division (CSD) at the Royal Thai Police's Central Investigation Bureau, asking police to investigate the whereabouts of temple museum assets at a well-known temple in Ban Khai district, Rayong province — alleging that three gold Buddha images have gone missing, along with uncertainty over a gold Naga-canopy commemorative coin marked "No. 1." The complaint was led by retired Rear Admiral Sakchai Anantachai (พล.ร.ต.ศักดิ์ชัย อนันตชัย), a former deputy chief of the Royal Thai Navy's education department, accompanied by more than ten villagers and disciples. The temple in question was the home of the late Luang Phor Sakorn Manunyo (หลวงพ่อสาคร มนุญโญ), widely regarded as the foremost disciple of Luang Pu Thim Isariko — the Wat Lahanrai master behind the Khun Paen amulet — who inherited his teacher's sacred formulas and built his own reputation casting Khun Paen and Hanuman Maha Prab amulets in eastern Thailand.
Inventories That Don't Match
Disciples say they first sent a formal letter to the temple and Rayong's provincial Buddhist affairs office on June 23, 2026, requesting an asset check. A meeting over the request ended in a dispute, with disciples saying they were denied access to inspect the museum's contents in person. The temple's explanation for the three missing gold images is that they disappeared before the current abbot took office — but the complainants argue that two separate inventory counts produced inconsistent results, and they are demanding access to historical records and renewed questioning of past custodians. The report also states that the gold "No. 1" Naga-canopy coin is believed to be kept in a monk's residence on temple grounds, while some Khun Paen and Hanuman amulets, along with unspecified gold scraps, are said to have been sold off — disciples claim to hold partial evidence, including recordings, though no amounts have been disclosed. The temple has not issued a public response. It bears repeating that, at this stage, every allegation comes solely from the complainants: police have only just opened an inquiry, nothing has been verified in court, and no wrongdoing should be presumed.
Why a Temple Dispute Matters to Collectors
To outsiders, an internal asset dispute at a provincial temple might read as local news. But for Khun Paen collectors, the lineage matters: Luang Phor Tim's casting tradition at Wat Lahanrai was carried forward precisely through foremost disciples like Luang Phor Sakorn, as covered in our guide to Luang Phor Tim and the Khun Paen tradition. Temple museums like this one often serve as physical reference points for dating and authenticating a master's work. When the integrity of such a collection comes into question, it doesn't just affect this one temple — it's a reminder that a "from the temple museum" provenance claim is a starting point for due diligence, not a substitute for it, a theme we've also explored in our coverage of the Tone Bang Khae temple fraud case.
Source: Siamrath