Head monk under criminal investigation in China

The temple, Shi Yongxin, the priest of the world -famous Shaolin temple, is being investigated for crimes such as “inappropriate relationships with more than one woman” and “having illegitimate children”.

He said on Sunday that the Temple of Shaolin said that more than one department has researched Mr Shi jointly and that more information would be explained to the public in time.

The Temple of 1,500-year-old Shaolin, which is located in a mountain range in Henan province in the center of China, attracts thousands of students every year-from all over the world.

Mr. Shi, the priest of the Temple of Shaolin since 1999, won the nickname “CEO Monk” to transform the institution into a global brand.

Under his leadership, the temple began to open schools outside China and formed a traveling group of monks that carried out Shaolin Kung Fu shows, the signature style of the martial arts of the temple.

The news that Mr. Shi was investigated was the most read topic in Weibo on Monday morning. The last article on its own Weibo account, which has more than 880,000 followers and updated daily with Buddhist teachings, dated July 24th.

Mr. Shi also began to examine in 2015 because there were sexual relations with women and allegedly allegedly embezzling temple funds. It is also claimed that it has received expensive gifts from companies and local governments, including a Volkswagen SUV and a bathrobe with a gold yarn.

At that time, he was investigated for embezzlement and a few children, but later he was cleared of the charges.

In an interview with the BBC Chinese in 2015, Mr. Shi was asked about allegations of corruption and relationships with women.

“If there was a problem, it would have been going on long ago,” he said.

In 2015, the Temple of Shaolin came under fire on the plan to build a Temple Complex of approximately $ 300 million, including a hotel, Kung Fu school and a golf field.

The name “Shaolin” has come to the forefront in pop culture, including being the title of the 1982 film in Jet Li. The temple was referred to in the songs of the American Hip-Hop band Wu-Tang Clan, and the video game inspired a spinoff of Mortal Kombat.