A 49-year-old mainland Chinese man, surnamed Lee, has been jailed after he posed as a Buddhist monk in Lan Kwai Fong to sell prayer beads.

Lee, who hails from Hubei, had come to Hong Kong on June 7th as a tourist, Oriental Daily reports. Last Friday, he reportedly approached two apparent tourists in Lan Kwai Fong while wearing yellow monk’s robes and gave them prayer beads, which they paid HKD50 for.

According to Headline Daily, the sale was actually a sting set up by Mary Jean Reimer of “Buddhist Alert“, a group of people seeking to expose the fraudulent behaviour of “fake monks”, and she reported Lee to the police. He was charged with breaching the conditions of his stay, and intentionally misleading others.

In Sha Tin Magistrates’ Courts today, Lee pleaded guilty to his charges. The 49-year-old, who has no previous record of criminal activity, said he was an interior decorator until 2006, when he was sustained injuries from a traffic accident which required brain surgery.

Police officers seized 112 strings of coloured prayer beads from the defendant, which he claimed were purchased from a temple in Shenzhen.

Despite giving Lee a more lenient sentence based on his guilty plea, the magistrate said his actions were “disrespectful” and “degrading” towards Buddhism, and damaged the religion’s reputation in Hong Kong.

As a result, Lee was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment.

Related articles:

Hong Kong men start ‘task force’ to confront alleged fake monks in Lan Kwai Fong (VIDEO)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated with new information.



Got a tip? Send it to us at hongkong@coconuts.co

Grove: Coconuts Brand Studio

Fast. Funny. Digital. We produce creativity that delights and influences customers. Join forces with us to slay buzzwords, rise above the noise, and sow the seeds of something great.