How is Vatana? Fine, thanks

Vatana Assavahame made his first public appearance at a Buddhist temple he commissioned in China on Friday after fleeing a jail term for bribery four years ago.

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Politician Vatana Assavahame, third from left, appears at a Buddhist temple in China after he fled a 10-year jail term for bribery in the Klong Dan waste water treatment project scandal. Phra Thammasittinayok, assistant abbot of Wat Srakesa in Bangkok, second from left, performs a religious ceremony at Wat Hame Assavaram, a Buddhist temple sponsored by Vatana in Luoyang of China’s Henan province. NAUVARAT SUKSAMRAN

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Fugitive Vatana appears at Chinese temple

Nauvarat Suksamran

LUOYANG, CHINA : Vatana Assavahame made his first public appearance at a Buddhist temple he commissioned in China on Friday after fleeing a jail term for bribery four years ago.

Vatana, a former deputy interior minister and ex-chief adviser to the Puea Pandin Party, showed up at a Friday ceremony to bury a sacred luk nimit stone orb in the grounds of Wat Hame Assavaram, the first Thai Buddhist temple of the Thevarada doctrine to be built in China.

The fugitive politician spent 200 million baht of his own money to build the temple located in the compound of Baima Si, an old Chinese temple in Luoyang in the central Chinese province of Henan. The temple took almost two years to build.

Nearly 100 Buddhist monks from Thailand and more than 500 high-profile Thai and Chinese guests attended the ceremony, organised by Vatana.

Among the guests were Pongsak Raktapongpaisarn, a close aide of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and Bannapot Damapong, step-brother of Potjaman na Pombejra, Thaksin's ex-wife.

Vatana said he visited the Baima Si temple when he was deputy interior minister in 1990 and had a small temple structure built there.

It was not until two years ago that he revisited the temple and decided, with the Baima Si temple's permission, to commission Wat Hame Assavaram on the site.

The temple was designed to reflect Thai arts, he said.

Highly-revered Somdej Kiew, or Somdej Phraputhajarn, abbot of Wat Srakesa in Bangkok, has sent senior monks to follow up on the construction of the temple, he said.

Vatana fled Thailand after he was sentenced in 2008 by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to 10 years imprisonment for bribing officials in connection with a land grab in the Klong Dan waste water treatment project in Samut Prakan.

Since fleeing the country, he has reportedly spent time in Cambodia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and China.

politician – a person whose job is concerned with politics, especially as an elected member of parliament, etc. นักการเมือง
appear – to be seen ปรากฏตัว
fled (past of flee) – escaped; left an area very quickly because of a danger there หนีไป
jail term – the length of time a person is required to spend in jail
bribery – the crime of giving money or presents to someone so that they will help you by doing something dishonest or illegal การให้สินบน
treatment – a process in which a substance is put on something, for example in order to preserve or clean it การใส่ (สารเคมีเป็นต้น)
scandal – a situation in which important people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people เรื่องอื้อฉาว
abbot – the head monk at a temple เจ้าอาวาส
fugitive – someone who has done something illegal and is trying to avoid being caught by the police ผู้หลบหนี
public appearance – coming to a place where other people can see you การปรากฏตัว
commission – to officially ask for a piece of work to be done มอบหมายให้ทำ
deputy interior minister – a member of the cabinet who helps oversee the Thai ministry with responsibility over the Royal Thai Police, local administrations, internal security, citizenship, disaster management, land management, issuing national identity cards and public works  รัฐมนตรีช่วยว่าการกระทรวงมหาดไทย
adviser – a person who gives advice, especially somebody who knows a lot about a particular subject ที่ปรึกษา
bury – to put something into the ground ฝัง
sacred – considered to be holy ศักดิ์สิทธิ์
orb – an object shaped like a ball วัตถุทรงกลม
grounds – an area of land around a building or set of buildings บริเวณ, สถานที่
Thevarada doctrine – a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a branch of Buddhism known as Thevarada Buddhism  ลัทธิเถรวาท, นิกายเถรวาท
located – where something is ตั้งอยู่
compound – an area in which a group of buildings stands บริเวณ
high-profile – creating a lot of public attention เป็นที่สนใจจากคนในสังคม
aide – someone whose job is to help another person in their work ผู้ช่วย
ousted – forced out of a position of power ขับออกจากอำนาจ
step-brother – the son from an earlier marriage of your step-mother (แม่เลี้ยง) or step-father (พ่อเลี้ยง) ลูกเลี้ยงที่เป็นผู้ชาย
permission – allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
site – a place where something is located  สถานที่
reflect – to show สะท้อน แสดงถึง
revered – highly respected and admired ซึ่งแสดงความเคารพนับถือ
senior – with a high rank or position อาวุโส
construction – the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
sentence – (of a court of law) to give a punishment ลงโทษ
Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions – a trial court in a case where the Prime Minister, a minister, member of the House of Representatives, senator or other political official is accused of becoming unusually wealthy, committing crimes with in office, performing duties dishonestly, or being corrupted according to other laws.  ศาลฎีกา แผนกคดีอาญาของผู้ดำรงตำแหน่งทางการเมือง
imprisonment – the punishment of being put in prison การจำคุก
land grab – getting ownership of land, often through illegal or improper methods ได้ที่ดินอย่างผิดกฎหมาย
reportedly – as reported (often used for showing that you are not certain that something you are reporting is true) ตามที่รายงาน