"Thieves" rampage in temples and pagodas

Thieves constantly "visit" the temple

Recently, at Truc Lam Yen Thanh Zen Monastery (Yen Thanh), thieves broke into the One Pillar Pagoda in the Zen Monastery's grounds and broke the donation box, taking all the donations from people from February 7-12 (ie from 3-8 Lunar New Year). According to Venerable Thich Tue Quang - in charge of the Zen Monastery, on the morning of February 12, after checking around, when arriving at the One Pillar Pagoda, he discovered that the donation box in the main hall had been broken by thieves and all the money inside had been taken.

The safe at Yen Due Temple was broken into by thieves to steal donation money. Photo: Dang Cuong

On February 10, Yen Lac Pagoda (Nam Dan) was also broken into by a thief who took money from the donation box. The entire action of the subject was recorded by the pagoda's surveillance camera. Venerable Thich Nhuan Hien - abbot of the pagoda said: The image shows that the young man in white shirt, after observing the surroundings, entered the donation box and put tools inside the donation box to take out each bill.

Thieves also take advantage of Tet holidays to steal. Typically, on the morning of February 6 (the second day of the Lunar New Year), some Buddhists and people came to Lam Son Pagoda (Quynh Luu) to offer incense to Buddha and make merit. They discovered that two safes placed in the main shrine of the pagoda had been broken into by thieves, taking all the donations of Buddhists and visitors who came to the pagoda during the Tet holidays.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich - a local resident expressed "The pagoda is a solemn place of worship, yet thieves are not eliminated. There is really nothing more to say".

Image of a thief taking donation money at Yen Lac Pagoda (Nam Dan) recorded by camera

Previously, on January 22, at Con Temple (Quynh Phuong, Hoang Mai Town), thieves also broke in to steal donation money. Currently, the Criminal Police Department of Hoang Mai Town Police has initially identified 2 subjects and recovered 24.5 million VND.

In Vinh City, at 11:10 p.m. on January 22, a thief sneaked into the temple of King Quang Trung on Dung Quyet Mountain and broke into two safes to steal all the donations inside. Previously, the security camera at Can Linh Pagoda in Cua Nam Ward recorded that in the early morning of December 20, 2018, a young man with his face covered sneaked into the pagoda. After going around, the thief took away a number of objects, along with 1.2 million VND in donations that had been counted.

According to preliminary statistics, since the beginning of the year, Nghe An province has had nearly a dozen thefts at temples and pagodas... Among them, there are cases that have been reported to local police for investigation and handling, and cases that have not been reported.

Need to raise awareness

According to Major Le Xuan Thanh - Investigator of the Criminal Police Team (Vinh City Police), property theft at temples, pagodas, and places of worship is not a new occurrence. For a long time, the police force has had to directly go to temples and pagodas to remind and guide on property protection, and install security cameras. Thanks to that, the "temple theft" problem has temporarily subsided.

However, before, during and after Tet, this crime recurs, because this is the time when the amount of donations is high. According to Major Thanh, the modus operandi of the subjects, before committing the crime, they often pretend to be believers going to a ceremony, visiting places of worship to approach the donation box, find out the working hours and travel of the managers and monks, wait until midnight or early morning to break in and act.

Lieutenant Nguyen Van Dung - Criminal Police Team of Yen Thanh District Police said: Thieves not only "visit" majestic temples and pagodas, but also communal houses and shrines. For example, in December 2018, Yen Thanh District Police promptly arrested, investigated and prosecuted a subject residing in Tang Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh), for stealing money from the donation box at the shrine located at Yen Thanh District General Hospital, with the amount of money the subject stole nearly 5 million VND.

Lam Son Pagoda (Quynh Luu) - where thieves broke into and destroyed the donation box on the second day of Tet. Photo: Huu Tinh

Some investigators at local police also said that, in addition to limited protection conditions, when thefts occur, temples and pagodas are also "afraid to report" or the reporting is sometimes not timely, so when the authorities know the news, the traces are gone, making it difficult to investigate and find the perpetrators. Not to mention, the thieves are mainly transient subjects, without stable jobs, drug addicts, so classifying the subjects is difficult. Determining the amount of money lost is difficult, because in reality it has not been counted, this issue is related to the conviction, penalty framework...

It can be seen that proactively preventing crimes in places of worship is not only to protect property safety but also to ensure solemnity at places of religious activities.

Therefore, under the management of the locality, the local police, specifically the communes and wards, need to advise the local Party Committee and People's Committee to launch a mass movement to protect national security; inform religious dignitaries, monks and nuns, and the masses about the tricks and methods of criminals to raise awareness and protect valuable assets and worship items.

In addition to raising awareness, building protective fences, and locking doors, places of worship need to have caretakers, night guards, or install security cameras to monitor and ensure the temple's assets, including donation boxes. When detecting suspicious individuals, promptly report to local police for inspection and handling.

Along with the above measures, the management boards of temples and pagodas need to base on the actual situation, decide the number of donation boxes at the relics for the convenience of monitoring and protection, not to arrange too many donation boxes like some places currently. And should it be necessary to open the donation boxes during the day for occasions such as the New Year festival to facilitate counting and storage, not creating opportunities for criminals to operate.

According to Decision No. 18/2016/QD-UBND “Regulations on receiving, managing and using donations at historical and cultural relics, scenic spots and landscapes in Nghe An province”, the relic management unit shall, based on the actual situation, decide the number of donation boxes at the relics, but each relic shall not exceed 3 boxes. In case of need to place more donation boxes, it must be reported to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for consideration and decision.

The opening of the donation box is decided by the relic management unit, but each time the donation box is opened, there must be a representative of the Relic Management Board and the Supervisory Team (must be present at least 2/3 of the members). The counting minutes must have the seal of the relic management unit, divided into 03 copies: The relic management board keeps 01 copy; The relic management unit keeps 01 copy; send 01 copy to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for synthesis, inspection and monitoring; The amount of donation after counting is transferred to the donation source account opened at the State Treasury within no more than 48 hours.