A suspected murderer on the run for 16 years in China found refuge in Buddhist temples, eventually rising to become an abbot, state media said yesterday.
Zhang Liwei (張立偉) was detained by police earlier this month on suspicion of stabbing three people to death with accomplices in 2000, Beijing News reported.
After the killings in his home province of Heilongjiang, Zhang fled nearly 2,000km south to Anhui, changing his name and finding work as a temple cook and ticket-seller, it said.
Later he moved to the Longxing temple in Fengyang County, shaving his head and proclaiming himself a monk.
He became a member of a local political consultative congress and two years ago the monks elected him abbot on the recommendation of his predecessor, according to the report.
He was only unmasked when he applied for a passport to travel abroad and submitted his fingerprints — which allegedly matched those of the wanted man.
The monks appreciated his efforts to improve their living conditions and buildings, the report said, adding that the temple had donated about 1 million yuan (US$150,000) to charitable causes in recent years and Zhang was supporting two rural orphans financially.
A neighborhood nun was unmoved.
“The Buddha tells us to be contrite,” the report quoted her as saying. “He should have turned himself in if he sincerely repented of what he did.”
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
RSS