SINGAPORE — A Buddhist monk who set up a hospice in Thailand for people with HIV/Aids has been arrested for alleged embezzlement of donations to the care home.

Luang Phor Alongkot, 65, was arrested Tuesday at his temple in the central province of Lopburi. He denied wrongdoing.

Alongkot is the abbot or head of Wat Phrabatnampu temple, where he established a HIV/Aids hospice in 1992 and raised his profile as a humanitarian. The hospice also takes in people with other illnesses and provides education for its patients' children.

Police also arrested Seksan Sapsubbsakul, an influencer who had helped to raise funds for the temple.

The investigation on alleged misuse of temple donations started with Seksan and was later expanded to include Alongkot.

Alongkot resigned from his post last week as rumours swirled of donations being mismanaged, local media reported.

Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau, said Alongkot "cooperated well with the police and was willing to be disrobed without force", the AP news agency reported.

Monks are required to disrobe before they can be charged.

Monks are highly revered in Thailand, where more than 90% of the population identify as Buddhist. But many monks have been in the news for breaking the law or the monastic code.

Thailand's Buddhist institution, which has long been plagued with reports of monks breaking their vow of celibacy, trafficking drugs and committing financial crimes.

In July, police opened a hotline for people to report "misbehaving monks" after at least nine monks were found to have had sex with a woman. She had gone on to blackmail them with photos and videos of the acts.

In 2017, a jet-setting Thai monk made international headlines when he was charged with sex offences, fraud and money laundering. — BBC