The suspect was defrocked by the monastic authorities as soon as the allegation was made against him.

Munee Waewnokyoong, 59, was the abbot of Chanthasa-mosorn Temple and the monastic head of Bangkok's Dusit district at the time the alleged sexual assault took place.

The victim, who is of Vietnamese descent, visited Munee on January 25 during her vacation here at the suggestion of her mother. Munee is famous among foreign tourists for his fortune-telling services.

On January 25, a friend accompanied the victim to the temple.

However, when Munee saw the victim, he claimed bad luck had befallen her and she should undergo a ritual to avoid "bad things".

After the girl followed him into his quarters for the rite, he allegedly raped her. With the help of her family, the victim reported the incident to the Australian Embassy, who then brought her to lodge a complaint with police.

Police arrested Munee on Thursday night. He has been defrocked over the rape allegation.

"There is clear evidence against him," National Buddhism Bureau acting director Chularat Boonyakorn said yesterday.

She said a new abbot for Chanthasamosorn Temple had already been appointed.

According to Chularat, the Supreme Sangha Council has just issued a circular instructing provincial monastic leaders to strictly ensure that all abbots, monks and novice monks in their areas follow dhamma disciplines.

Pol Maj-General Khamronwit Thoopkrajang, commander of the Division for Suppression of Crimes Against Children, Juveniles and Women, said Munee had pleaded innocent.

"But we have concrete evidence against him," he said.

Kanok Saengprasert, a senior official at the National Buddhism Bureau, said there were 300 complaints about monks' questionable behaviour last year, including five about women.

"Monks who have been defrocked because of sex allegations will never be ordained again, not even if they receive acquittal verdicts from the courts," he said.