Ex-abbot of China’s Shaolin Temple arrested for embezzlement
Authorities in China's central Henan province, where the Shaolin Temple is, approved Shi Yongxin's arrest on “suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee”, a statement read.
File photo of Shi Yongxin, pictured in Beijing on Mar 4, 2016. (File photo: Reuters/Jason Lee)
BEIJING: The former head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of gongfu has been arrested over suspicion of embezzlement, the local authorities said on Sunday (Nov 16).
Shi Yongxin, former abbot of the Shaolin Temple, was removed in July for “extremely” bad behaviour.
Allegations of misappropriating project funds and temple assets saw him placed under investigation and disrobed.
The authorities in central Henan province, where the Shaolin Temple is, approved Shi’s arrest on “suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee”, the Xinxiang Procuratorate said in a statement.
Shi, 60, took office as abbot in 1999 and in the following decades, expanded Shaolin studies and cultural knowledge overseas.
He became known as the “CEO monk” for establishing dozens of companies abroad - but received backlash for commercialising Buddhism.
He had previously been accused by former monks of embezzling money from a temple-run company, maintaining a fleet of luxury cars and fathering children with multiple women.
In July, Beijing’s top Buddhist authority said it was
cancelling Shi’s certificate of ordination after fresh claims.
“Shi Yongxin’s actions are of an extremely bad nature, seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community, hurting the image of monks,” the Buddhist Association of China said at the time.
The temple, established in AD495, is known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Chinese gongfu.
