The previous head of China’s well-known Shaolin Temple, generally known as the birthplace of Kung Fu, has been sentenced to 24 years in jail on prices together with embezzlement and bribery.
A courtroom in central Henan province mentioned Shi Yongxin misappropriated temple property value greater than 282 million yuan (about $42 million, about £31 million) between 2003 and 2025.
The paper mentioned Shi used his official place to illegally get hold of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from temple development initiatives and supplied massive bribes to Chinese language officers.
In line with China’s state-run Xinhua Information Company, Mr. Shi (actual identify Liu Yingcheng) had beforehand admitted to the crime. He mentioned Friday he wouldn’t enchantment the ruling.
The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple, situated within the mountains, attracts hundreds of disciples from China and different elements of the world yearly.
Mr. Shi grew to become chief priest right here in 1999 and rapidly earned the nickname “CEO Monk” by reworking the power into a worldwide model.
Below his management, the temple started opening colleges outdoors China and shaped an itinerant troupe of monks who carried out the temple’s signature martial arts type, the Shaolin Kung Fu Present.
He was stripped of his lock final yr, based on the Chinese language Buddhist Affiliation.
Mr. Shi was investigated in 2015 for embezzlement and fathering a number of youngsters, however was later cleared.
In an interview with BBC Chinese language that yr, he mentioned: “If there had been an issue, it could have surfaced a very long time in the past.”
The identify “Shaolin” has grow to be well-known in popular culture over time, together with being the title of a 1982 movie starring Jet Li.
The temple is talked about in a track by the American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and was the inspiration for a spin-off of the online game Mortal Kombat.
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