At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, police said.

Police in Thailand have arrested a woman who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy.

Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith.