Former minister Pradit enters monkhood
Prominent businessman and veteran politician Pradit Phataraprasit has entered the monkhood, it was learnt on Monday.
The news surprised many people as the former minister had kept a low profile in politics since Banharn Silpa-archa, patriarch of Chart Thai Pattana – Pradit’s last party – passed away in 2016.
The news was posted on the Facebook page of Chalieo Kongtuk, a former Nation TV editor, along with photos of Pradit wearing a monastic robe and seen washing clothes in a remote provincial temple.
The post said Pradit, a former deputy transportation minister under Chuan Leekpai, had turned his back on secular life to join the monastic world at a temple in a remote area.
It is unclear when Pradit entered the monkhood or how long he intends to remain a monk.
Pradit first entered politics at the invitation of the late veteran politician Maj-General Sanan Kachonprasart at the Democrat Party.
He was elected as an MP in Phichit in 1995, and in 2005 became Democrat Party secretary-general.
He later quit the Democrats and joined Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana in 2007, where he became party secretary-general.
In 2011, Pradit joined Banharn’s Chart Thai Pattana Party, but failed to get elected as an MP.
During his political career, he held the posts of deputy transportation minister and deputy finance minister.
Pradit had several businesses, including in the hotel and aluminum-kitchenette sectors.
Last year, his name emerged in the media after it was revealed that he had bought a land plot linked to the scandal-hit Dhammakaya Temple.
