On May 29, 2026, the Intermediate People's Court of Xinxiang City, Henan Province (China) held a public first-instance trial against defendant Liu Yingcheng (formerly known as Qi Yongxin) for the crimes of embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, accepting bribes, and giving bribes. Combining the sentences for multiple offenses, the court sentenced him to 24 years in prison and fined him 3.5 million yuan.
What crime did the former abbot of Shaolin Temple, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison, commit?
According to the investigation results, between 2003 and 2025, the defendant Liu Yingcheng (Thich Vinh Tin) took advantage of his advantageous positions as Abbot of Shaolin Temple and Chairman of the Shaolin Charitable Welfare Foundation to illegally embezzle assets of the institution, either personally or in collusion with others, totaling more than 131 million yuan (over 500 billion VND).
From 2012 to 2022, the defendant embezzled more than 151 million yuan (586 billion VND) from the unit's funds for personal use and failed to return the money for more than three months.
Liu Yingcheng (Shi Yongxin) once turned the Shaolin Temple into a business "machine".
From July 2006 until his arrest, Thich Vinh Tin "facilitated others" in bidding for construction projects at the Shaolin Temple and related business activities, and illegally received bribes in the form of assets totaling over 11.63 million yuan.
From 1995 to 2022, in order to gain illicit profits, Thich Vinh Tin bribed officials with assets totaling more than 5.67 million yuan.
The Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court determined that the actions of defendant Liu Yingcheng (Shi Yongxin) constituted the crimes of embezzlement of property, misappropriation of public funds, accepting bribes from non-government officials, and giving bribes. The amount of money the former abbot of Shaolin Temple embezzled, misappropriated public funds, and received as bribes was exceptionally large; the act of giving bribes was particularly serious; the criminal acts took place over a long period, causing serious consequences and negatively impacting society, therefore, he must be severely punished according to the law.
After being apprehended, Thich Vinh Tin confessed honestly to his crimes, proactively disclosing part of the truth about his crimes that the investigating authorities were unaware of, and also pleaded guilty and showed remorse. He declared in court that he accepted the verdict and would not appeal.
Who is Thich Vinh Tin?
Shi Yongxin, whose secular name was Liu Yingcheng, was born in 1965 in Fuyang, Anhui (China). According to the official website of Shaolin Temple, he came to the temple in 1981 and became a disciple of Shi Xingcheng, the 29th abbot.
In 1987, after the death of the current head of the Shaolin Temple, he inherited the position and assumed the role of Director of the Shaolin Temple Management Committee, overseeing all temple affairs. In 1999, he was appointed Abbot of Shaolin Temple. From July 1998 to the present, he has been the Chairman of the Henan Provincial Buddhist Association. From September 2002 to the present, he has been the Vice Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China.
Thích Vĩnh Tín was the abbot of Shaolin Temple before being investigated last year.
Shi Yongxin, the 30th abbot of Shaolin Temple, is known as the "elite monk" or "CEO of Shaolin Temple" for leading this famous temple into a period of comprehensive commercialization. According to HK01, since taking over, he has systematized cultural resources, refined martial arts techniques, established the Shaolin Martial Arts Research Association, developed cultural products such as calligraphy and Zen poetry, transforming Shaolin Temple into a major cultural brand.
He founded Henan Shaolin Temple Industrial Development Co., Ltd. (1998), initially dealing in Zen tea and vegetarian pastries, then expanded into book publishing, established companies such as Shaolin Happy Land, launched a Taobao store selling Buddhist items and martial arts equipment, collaborated on game and music development, and even "consecrated" phone numbers for auction.
By 2022, Shaolin Temple had registered 706 trademarks and invested in 16 companies with a total capital of nearly 80 million yuan, of which 7 companies were still operating.
On the evening of July 27, 2025, the Shaolin Temple management announced that Shi Yongxin was suspected of committing criminal offenses, embezzlement, and misappropriation of project funds and temple property; a serious violation of Buddhist precepts. Sina , citing the Economic Observer, reported that Shi Yongxin was taken away by police in Xinxiang, Henan, around July 25, 2025.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bi-phat-24-nam-tu-cuu-tru-tri-thieu-lam-tu-khong-khang-cao-ar1020813.html
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