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.The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood,

The scandal first surfaced in mid-June when the abbot of the prestigious Wat Tri Thotsathep monastery abruptly left the monkhood.

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