Nine-year-old dies after monk beats him

A nine-year-old Buddhist novice has died after a Thai monk allegedly battered him with a stick and slammed his head against a pillar, officials said yesterday. Monk Suphachai Suthiyano, 64, flew into a rage during a prayer session last weekend when the young disciple disrupted the ceremony with his “playful” behaviour.

The monk allegedly assaulted Wattanapol Sisawad with a bamboo stick at the temple in Kanchanaburi, two hours west of Bangkok, striking him on his back several times before bashing his head into a pillar. The child fell into a coma and passed away late Thursday, a hospital worker at Kanchanaburi provincial hospital told AFP yesterday, requesting anonymity