Thai police fail to find monk in Dhammakaya temple raid

Thai police have failed to find an influential Buddhist leader, wanted for alleged money-laundering, after searching his sect's vast headquarters.

Police said they found medical equipment in rooms where they had expected to find the group's former abbot, 72-year-old Phra Dhammajayo.

They say they will keep searching the Dhammakaya temple complex, under a 10-day search warrant.

Officers first entered the site, near Bangkok, on Thursday.

Previous attempts to search the complex were thwarted when thousands of the monk's devotees turned up in his defence.

The latest search is being carried out under an emergency law, after the temple for months failed to hand over Phra Dhammajayo, saying he was too ill to be questioned.

Phra Dhammajayo, who founded the temple, is accused of embezzling its funds. But when officers attempted to search the site last June they were blocked by his supporters.

The abbot appears not to have left the temple for months and has long denied the allegations, saying they are politically motivated.