Buddhist Monk Charged Filming Naked Women Bathing in Holy Water

(AFP) - A Buddhist monk was charged Tuesday for secretly filming hundreds of women as they bathed naked with holy water at a temple in Cambodia, and then sharing the clips.

Net Khai, 37, faced up to a year in jail after being charged with "producing and distributing pornographic images'' by Phnom Penh Municipal Court, prosecutor Ek Chheng Huot said.

He was arrested at his pagoda in the Cambodian capital on Saturday over allegations that he secretly taped the women pouring sacred water over themselves in a pagoda bathroom, said police chief Touch Naruth.

Khai was arrested after a victim approached police and said that video clips showing the naked women were shared among people via their mobile phones in recent weeks.

He was subsequently stripped of his religious status.

"He has filmed hundreds of women since 2008. They came to the monk to be blessed with holy water, but they were secretly filmed," Naruth said.

"His act affects other monks and Buddhism and seriously harms our tradition," he said, adding that Khai confessed to his crimes.

Police said they were looking for the man's accomplices.

There are more than 55,000 Buddhist monks across Cambodia, which has 4,300 pagodas.

(This article is provided by NewsCore, which aggregates news from around News Corporation.)