Four monks that have been engaged in an ongoing boozefest in the northeast were finally caught in the act yesterday and stripped of their saffron robes. Instead of being sorry — they just said they would ordain at a different temple and keep drinking together.

The people of Mukdahan were tired of hearing the four drunk monks partying constantly until the early hours and disrespecting their Buddhist commitment, so they called the police yesterday.

The police shut down the party at Wat Baan Na Kham Noi, where the monks had three empty bottles of Lao Khao and were working their way through a fourth, according to Thairath.

Three of the men had each been ordained for 23 years each — and the fourth was an abbot.

They were identified as Phra Thonglai Meuangtrai, 46, Phra Boonchu Sutchiwiro, 50, and Anuwicha Jongdaeng, 48. The fourth monk was a former local official and abbot of Wat Sri Mukda who had already been disrobed once and had just re-ordained.

Each of the monks belonged to a different temple and they took turns hosting the group’s drunken evenings. They had avoided being caught before by listening to police radios until yesterday when the cops caught on to the monks game and used cell phones to close in on the tipsy foursome.

The drunken monks were brought to the local council to be defrocked. Each was fined THB1000 for drinking in an illegal place.

As they left, they declared, “We will continue to drink together — we will just find another place to ordain.”

That’s the true “spirit” of friendship.

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