The abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda was fined 7.5 million VND.

Speaking with a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper , the leader of the People's Committee of Uong Bi City ( Quang Ninh province) said that the city has issued an administrative penalty decision against Mr. Vu Minh Hieu, also known as Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh, Abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda.

Venerable Thai Minh was fined 7.5 million VND for failing to notify the competent state authorities when organizing an exhibition at Ba Vang Pagoda.

Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh and the artifact he calls "the Buddha's hair relic".

Specifically, during the celebration of the 765th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, the pagoda organized an exhibition and veneration of what was called "the Buddha's hair relics" without notifying the competent authorities as required by regulations.

Upon discovering the incident, the local authorities instructed the Provincial Religious Affairs Committee to coordinate with the Uong Bi City People's Committee to continue investigating, clarifying, and consolidating the case file, and to report to the competent authority for handling the relevant parties involved in the violation.

Quang Ninh province also requested Ba Vang Pagoda not to compile or produce videos , images, documents, etc., and to remove all information introducing the object believed to be the "hair relic of Buddha".

Thus, exactly one month after the incident, the abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda received a penalty from the local authorities and a disciplinary warning from the Vietnam Buddhist Association.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/tru-tri-chua-ba-vang-bi-xu-phat-75-trieu-dong-20240126190259382.htm