Nghe An: Arrested a super thief who specializes in 'stealing' donation money from temples and pagodas

On March 13, Vinh City Police announced that they had just prosecuted and temporarily detained Tran Dinh Hoan (32 years old, residing in Quan Bau Ward) for theft of property. Hoan is the suspect in at least 8 thefts of donation money at temples and pagodas in Nghe An and Ha Tinh within just 2 months of the Lunar New Year.

Tran Dinh Hoan had five previous convictions for theft before his arrest. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the police, Hoan had no stable job and had 5 previous convictions for theft. In the early morning of December 20, he removed his motorbike's license plate, brought many homemade tools and drove to Can Linh Pagoda (Cua Nam Ward, Vinh City) to "steal" donation money.

This super thief confessed that in just a short time, he broke into the temple to dig through 12 donation boxes and stole more than 13.2 million VND.

Crime tools and stolen money collected from Hoan. Photo: Tien Hung

In the following days, using similar methods, Hoan continuously broke into temples and pagodas such as Quang Trung Temple, Tran Hung Dao Temple (Vinh City), Bui Cam Ho Temple (Hong Linh Town), Dai Tue Pagoda (Nam Dan District), Long Khanh Pagoda (Nghi Xuan District), Co Am Pagoda (Dien Chau District). At Can Linh Pagoda alone, within a short period of time, Hoan committed two thefts of donations.

“Initially, he confessed to committing 8 charity thefts in just over 2 months, stealing nearly 80 million VND. However, we suspect that Hoan is the culprit in many other cases, so we are still continuing to fight and expand the investigation,” said Captain Nguyen Cong Du, an investigator of this project.

In addition, the police also determined that the amount of money this super thief took was much larger than the amount he confessed.

Donation box at Can Linh Pagoda. This is the pagoda that Hoan "visited" twice within 2 months, stealing tens of millions of dong. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the investigation, before committing the act, Hoan often searched online for the addresses of large temples and pagodas in the area. Then he blended in with the crowd offering incense to observe and investigate.

“When we reviewed the cameras at the temple, we also realized that Hoan was offering incense and praying like a Buddhist at the temple,” Captain Du said. When he was arrested and checked in the trunk of his car, the police also discovered a bundle of coins stolen from the temple that had not been spent yet.

The case is still under further investigation.