A randy Buddhist monk fled in disgrace over selfies of him fondling a woman's breasts.

Visakha Montaviro, 35, had been the subject of complaints from locals after he reportedly exhibited inappropriate behavior in a village in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand.

In one of his leaked selfies, he was seen fondling an unknown woman's breasts while they were both topless. In Buddhism, monks are banned from having contact with women.

The picture was sent by angry locals to the head monk but he fled before he could be confronted about it.

Ban Mae Yen village chief Churairat Kantasuk said: ‘Monk Visakha had been misbehaving for a while and we have evidence. There was a picture of him showing how he molested a woman during a fortune telling.

'We also have a picture showing him and a woman while they were both naked and hugging each other.'

Aside from the monk's pictures showing him with women, he was also caught on the CCTV allegedly stealing donations from the temple. The monk would use a long stick to carefully pull some of the cash out when he thought no one was looking.

The complaints were received by Rai district head monk Anusarn Punyakom, but just before he could be confronted, the problematic religious reportedly fled to Chiang Mai province. He is still being contacted by the head monk to face the complaints.

Buddhism is the official religion in Thailand which is practiced by more than 95 per cent of the population. The religion is also widely practiced in neighbouring countries Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. This puts monks are highly revered and it is common for locals to donate large sum of money to monks and temples to receive good karma.