Self-professed ‘monk’ from Cambodia accused of sexually assaulting followers in Taoyuan, Taiwan
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/14
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Shih (center), alleged wife and son (left). (Facebook image)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A self-professed “monk” from Cambodia, faces deportation after being charged by over a dozen women with sexual assault and profiting from his religious teachings.
Over a dozen of his victims, all Cambodian immigrant women, have accused a Cambodian self-titled “monk,” identified as Shih Ching-liang (釋精良), of coercing them into sexual acts that in many cases resulted in the breakup of their marriages. Shih has also been accused of eschewing the ascetic lifestyle expected of a monk with a mansion, car, and family, and using his status as a religious figure to profit from his followers.
According to Mirror Media, Shih came to Taiwan over 10 years ago and trained at the Yuan Kuang Buddhist College in Taoyuan for three years to become a monk. Shih soon exploited the venerated status of Buddhist monks in Cambodia to build a large following of Cambodian immigrants in Taoyuan.
Shih then allegedly began to target his female Cambodian followers and coerce them into performing sexual acts, often leading to conflicts with their Taiwanese husbands. None of his followers spoke of the incidents, until some victims recently stepped forward, opening the door for many more accounts of his misdeeds. [FULL STORY]
