Prosecution and temporary detention of former abbot of Phuoc Quang pagoda
Recently, the Standing Committee of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha received many petitions accusing Mr. Pham Van Cung - registered as a permanent resident at Phuoc Quang Pagoda - of fraud and appropriation of large sums of money.
Colonel Huynh Thanh Mong - Deputy Director of Vinh Long Provincial Police said that the Provincial Police Investigation Security Agency has issued a decision to prosecute and execute an order to temporarily detain Pham Van Cung (38 years old) in Tam Binh district for the crime offraud and appropriation of propertyto investigate and clarify the case. The suspect Cung used to be a monk with the dharma name Thich Phuoc Ngoc, abbot of Phuoc Quang pagoda, Tam Binh district.
Previously on September 22, the Board of Trustees,Buddhist ChurchVietnam issued a document announcing the return to secular life and the cessation of monkhood for Venerable Thich Phuoc Ngoc, abbot of Phuoc Quang Pagoda in Tam Binh District, Vinh Long Province.
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| Defendant Pham Van Cung when he was still a monk. (Source: phatgiao.org.vn) |
Pham Van Cung registered his permanent residence at Phuoc Quang Pagoda (Tam Binh Town, Tam Binh District, Vinh Long Province). Recently, the Standing Committee of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha received many petitions accusing Mr. Cung of fraud and appropriation of large sums of money.
Based on initial verification and clarification, on August 17, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Vinh Long province issued a decision to return Venerable Thich Phuoc Ngoc to lay life and return to his family. At the same time, it revoked related documents including: certificate of ordination, certificate of monks and nuns, and removed the monk's name from the list of monks and nuns of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Vinh Long province.
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| The Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha issued a document announcing the lay status and no longer being a monk for Venerable Thich Phuoc Ngoc. |
In the document, the Central Office of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha also informed the Executive Committees of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in provinces and cities across the country to be aware and alert to monks, nuns, and Buddhists to avoid unfortunate incidents./.
