Monk on the run in Thailand

BANGKOK: Thai police left empty handed after a day-long search of a massive Buddhist temple for a monk wanted over a multi-million-dollar scam on Thursday, the latest twist in a saga highlighting a split over the nation’s faith.

The sweep of the powerful and ultra-rich Wat Dhammakaya temple on Bangkok’s outskirts comes after Thailand’s junta chief invoked special powers to put its sprawling 1,000-acre compound under military control.

But it became the latest failed attempt to arrest Phra Dhammachayo, the septuagenarian monk who founded the breakaway Buddhist order in 1970, after police said they were unable to find him but would resume their search the following day. The former abbot is believed to be holed up inside the compound, which is famous for its space-age architecture, though he has not been seen in public for months.