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Published on September 4, 2007

Klong Luang district sheriff Lerkiat Kaewsrichan said after his two-hour inspection of the temple that he had found nothing wrong.

He said the abbot and temple committee had followed every religious procedure when they mixed in the ashes of 28 infants as a component of the amulets. The Pathum Thani Office of Buddhism had earlier inspected the temple and reported to the province's governor, who then assigned officials to check whether the children's documents were genuine. He would then report to the Office of National Buddhism.

Lerkiat said the use of the children's ashes was "not illegal" as such, but it was up to the Buddhism authorities as to whether they issued any caution to the temple for using the ashes in the popular amulets.

Temple committee member Apichat Rodpruekpum said the idea of putting the infants' ashes into the amulets was not a decision taken solely by the abbot, as it also involved 100 committee members. The aim is to build a permanent crematorium for poor people or those who have no relatives, using the proceeds generated from the Jatukam sales.

Religious rituals were undertaken "to bless" the infants for three days. The children's parents also participated in the ceremony, said Apichat, adding that he wanted people to stop criticising, as the abbot had already finished making the amulets.

The Nation