China sentences former Shaolin abbot to 24 years for corruption

ByAtlasnews

May 29, 2026 #embezzlement, #Shaolin Temple, #Shi Yongxin, #South China Morning Post (SCMP), #taking bribes, #Xinhua

AdvertisementCorruption in China China Politics

China sentences former Shaolin abbot to 24 years for corruption

Disgraced leader should be ‘severely punished’ according to law, court says, calling circumstances of his bribery ‘particularly serious’

2-MIN READ2-MIN Listen

Shi Yongxin served as abbot of Shaolin Temple and president of the Shaolin Charity and Welfare Foundation. Photo: AFP

William ZhengPublished: 7:42pm, 29 May 2026Updated: 10:00pm, 29 May 2026Shi Yongxin, former abbot of the world-famous Shaolin Temple, has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and taking bribes, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Shi was also fined 3.5 million yuan (US$516,000).

Xinxiang Intermediate People’s Court in China’s central Henan province found that Shi, whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng, had embezzled more than 131 million yuan between 2003 and 2025.

Shi appeared in a public trial on Monday. The verdict was announced on Friday.

For decades, Shi served as abbot of Shaolin Temple and president of the Shaolin Charity and Welfare Foundation.

He was found to have appropriated 151 million yuan for his own use between 2012 and 2022 and to have taken bribes totalling 11.63 million yuan since 2006 to help others win contracts related to temple construction and related business operations.

AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x