Thai monk accused of using infant corpse for magic

BANGKOK

A Buddhist monk is being investigated by Thai police after an infant corpse was found buried under a Hindu shrine in northern Thailand in what appears to be the revival of an old black magic practice.

Thai media reported Thursday that the corpse was discovered wrapped in gold leaf and placed inside a glass coffin under a Brahma shine within the compound of a Buddhist temple in northern Chiang Mai province.

Gen. Pacha Rattanaphan, deputy-chief of the provincial police, said that the temple's abbot had claimed he bought the corpse from an undertaker for Bht3000 ($90) and planned to turn it into an amulet of the mystical being "Kuman Thong.”

“He claimed that he changed his plan because the infant was big and looked very human,” added the officer, as quoted by The Nation.

The practice of Kuman Thong - which means "Golden Infant" - is an ancient Siamese tradition linked to necromancy and black magic rituals. 

Originally, it involved the surgical removal of an unborn fetus from the womb of his mother. The body was then roasted dry, while a witch-doctor stood by singing magical incantations.

After being painted with a special lacquer and covered with gold leaf, the corpse was considered to have become a powerful spirit.

Although the practice was abandoned in the early 20th century, Kuman Thong remains in the form of simple plaster figures placed on house shrines.

Some of the older styles are occasionally found, however, in temples or markets.

With witch-doctors believed to be able to invoke the powers of Kuman Thong to help them in their endeavors, they are often highly coveted.

In May 2012, a British citizen of Taiwanese origin was arrested in a Bangkok hotel with six male fetuses that had been roasted and covered in gold, while in 1995 a Buddhist monk, Harn Raksajit, was arrested and defrocked for having roasted a stillborn baby in order to transform him into a Kuman Thong.