2 fake Buddhist monks from China arrested in West Jakarta

By Coconuts Jakarta August 23, 2016

The two fake monks surrounded by West Jakarta Immigration officials during a press conference today. Photo: Twitter/@IMIGRASIHUMAS

The art of conning people in the name of religion is as old as human civilization itself, and there are certainly many religious con artists lurking in Jakarta as well.

Today, the West Jakarta Immigration Office announced that they arrested two fake Buddhist monks from China who have been going door to door to ask for donations.

The fake monks, identified as Hi Qiyan and Yua Xianhua, were arrested during a routine operation carried out by immigration officers on August 16 as they were asking for donations in West Jakarta.

The suspects claimed they were from the Tanjung Duren monastery, but the officers immediately went to check their claim out at the monastery themselves.

“According to the monastery’s elders, the monks are fake because the way they spoke and the way they dressed didn’t symbolize that they were actual monks,” said West Jakarta Immigration Office Head Abdulrahman, as quoted by Okezone today.

In addition, the monastery elders said Buddhist monks aren’t allowed to beg door to door for donations.

The immigration officers found 9,120 yen, 280 Hong Kong dollars, and Rp 240,000 on the fake monks at the time of the arrest. The two reportedly targeted ethnic Chinese citizens in West Jakarta. They were charged with 5 years in prison and a Rp 500 million fine.

The fake monk problem is certainly not limited to Jakarta. In fact, some of them are even more aggressively demanding in their attempt to score some cash, like these fake monks in Hong Kong: