Former abbot of China’s famous Shaolin Temple sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption

A Chinese court on Friday sentenced a former abbot of the Shaolin Temple to 24 years in prison after he was found guilty of misappropriation of funds and bribery.

BEIJING — A Chinese court on Friday sentenced a former abbot of China’s famous Shaolin Temple to 24 years in prison after he was found guilty of offences including misappropriation of funds and bribery, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

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Shi Yongxin, whose original name is Liu Yingcheng, was also fined 3.5 million yuan (about $516,000) by the court in central Henan province after a trial.

The court found that Shi used his positions, including as the temple abbot, to illegally embezzle over 131 million yuan ($19 million) alone or in conspiracy with others, between 2003 and 2025, CCTV reported. The court also discovered that Shi misappropriated funds amounting to over 151 million yuan (about $22 million) for personal use for more than three months without repayment between 2012 and 2022, among other findings, the report added.