The former Buddhist abbot at the heart of a stand-off with authorities at Thailand's biggest temple has been stripped of his monastic rank by the king, the military government said on Sunday. The symbolic step comes more than two weeks after police surrounded the scandal-hit Dhammakaya temple and began searching for Phra Dhammachayo, who is accused of money laundering.
The stand-off at the temple represents one of the biggest challenges to the authority of Thailand's junta since it took power in 2014.
The former abbot has not turned himself in and police say his followers have hampered the search.
A document published in the Royal Gazette said King Maha Vajiralongkorn had agreed to the government's request to demote Phra Dhammachayo because he had not turned himself in and had fled from the charges against him.
"Thus he does not deserve to hold his monastic rank any longer," the document said.