A Buddhist monk allegedly stabbed his colleague to death following an argument about online gaming.
Pinit Pitarapho, 14, was playing the multiplayer battle game with older monk Kiatisak Senama, 18, at the temple in Mahasarakham, northeastern Thailand
However, Kiatisak allegedly became angry when his younger friend beat him. An argument began in which Pinit allegedly stabbed the older monk to death.
Police arrived on June 11 morning to find Kiatisak's lifeless body in a pool of blood on the ground outside the concrete single-story block he lived in.
He had allegedly suffered a laceration wound on the right side of the head and a 3-inches deep stab wound in his chest.
The sobbing young novice monk said he began arguing with his friend in the early hours of the morning because he had beat him at the smartphone battle game.
He said: "We played an online game against each other last night, which I won and it made him upset. He bullied me after that.
''He continued to argue with me even while we were having breakfast so I ran off but he followed me then stumbled and fell on a rock, which injured his head.
"He was angry and started to beat me so I grabbed a knife in the parsonage and swung it to scare him away but the blade flew off from the handle and stabbed his chest.
"Then I rushed to the monk and told them about what happened but when the police arrived he was already dead."
The police said that the two novices were childhood friends which caused them to tease each other but the younger lad had lost his patience.
Police Chief Wirach Khamrin said: "After talking to the younger novice we also found out that they grew up together, then ordained together as monk, so it was normal that they were hard on each other."
The policeman said that as the suspect is still a youth he will need to be interrogated by a social worker.
He said: "The case needs to go through the correct process and he will be questioned again by the social worker, but we are aiming to prosecute him for murder.''
