Conviction Buddhist institutions and contexts Buddhist institutions and lineages Shenzhen, Guangdong, China · 2021

China: man posing as a reincarnated lama convicted of raping and defrauding followers

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

impostor claiming to be the reincarnation of a respected monk, with fabricated temple credentials

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

Sexual access and money both flowed from a fabricated reincarnation status that disciples believed in.

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2021-01-01 · conviction; upheld at second instance

Chinese court, Guangdong (court not named in available reporting); second-instance trial completed. Yang Hongchen, who posed as the reincarnation of a respected monk using fabricated ties to a Hebei temple, was convicted of using superstition to undermine law enforcement, fraud, rape and embezzlement — raping multiple female followers, one of whom became pregnant, and defrauding believers — and sentenced to eighteen years plus a 150,000 yuan fine. He pleaded not guilty at both instances; the second-instance trial concluded by early 2021, making the conviction final.

Primary record

state media court reporting verdict and sentencing report Global Times: report on convictions of false 'living Buddhas'.: State-media court report (the only available account).

Related record