Tears of relief as ‘missing’ gold found inside Buddha topknot

A 43-year-old Buddha statue foundry worker dropped to his knees in relief when a golden Buddha topknot he had crafted was cut open, revealing 50 baht-weight of gold (762.2g) inside—contrary to widespread viral claims that the embedded gold had gone missing during the casting process.

Woraphot Jittatham broke down in tears after the discovery, saying he had spent years under pressure and scrutiny over allegations that the gold—worth nearly 4 million baht (~US$113,000) and embedded inside the topknot of a Buddha statue at a temple in Pathum Thani province—had disappeared.

“For years, the relic was not with me, but I had to take responsibility. If there had been no gold, I could have gone to jail. I have children—what would have happened to them?” he said, adding that he had remained confident all along that the gold was still inside.

The issue first erupted on social media after a viral post alleged that the gold had disappeared, leaving behind only zinc.

The gold comprised donations from an elderly donor who contributed gold bars weighing 45 baht-weight (685.98g), combined with additional gold from a revered monk and villagers, bringing the total to 50 baht-weight. The material was used to cast a sacred golden hair relic as a Buddhist offering.

Although witnesses said they saw molten gold poured into a mould during the ceremony seven or eight years ago, suspicions arose when the craftsman reportedly took the mould back to his workshop for “polishing” before returning it.

The controversy deepened when the object was recently tested at a gold shop, with results allegedly showing only about 2% gold content, with the remainder consisting of zinc and copper—fuelling outrage and calls for legal action over what some described as a betrayal of public faith.

To clarify the issue, a meeting was held at the temple in Bang Phun subdistrict yesterday, attended by the abbot, senior monks, local figures and Woraphot to determine how to resolve the matter.

Following advice from the National Office of Buddhism, all parties agreed to cut open the Buddha topknot to verify whether gold was present.

The relic was cut open horizontally by Woraphot, a process that took about three minutes.

The abbot said he had believed the craftsman but admitted feeling distressed by the situation, describing the act of cutting open a sacred object as deeply uncomfortable. He stressed that he had no ill intent and had devoted significant resources to developing the temple.

The abbot also called on the gold shop that conducted the earlier test to explain its findings or apologise, saying the report had damaged the temple’s reputation. He urged the public and media to understand that the temple had acted in good faith, insisting the project was driven solely by sincere intentions to contribute to the religion.