Sik Chi-ding allegedly passed off luxury items as 'maintenance' for monastery

Receipts issued by an upscale push-up bra retailer and a Jiangxi temple that does not exist vividly illustrated how the head nun of a seemingly rundown temple in Hong Kong allegedly took advantage of the city's lax supervision of charitable organizations.

Dozens of expenditure records kept by Ting Wai Monastery - made available to the media by solicitor Mary Jean Reimer on Tuesday - allegedly show disgraced head abbess Sik Chi-ding spent tens of thousands of dollars on cosmetics, undergarments and gold jewels and claimed them as "repair and maintenance" expenses for the monastery.

Most of the purchases were made in November last year. The shopping spree included gold jewelry worth HK$6,506, six girdles and "sexy bras" from BonLuxe bought two days later, luxury bedding items from Yata Department Store that cost HK$11,879, and 12 Kipling luggage and travel bags that cost HK$8,151.

The monastery posted expenses of HK$896,632 under "maintenance" in the financial year ending March 2015. Though the shopping receipts were accessible to the outside auditor, the annual financial report was filed with the company registry without dispute, according to Reimer.

Another receipt dated July 23, 2011 purported to be for a HK$350,000 donation made out by Ting Wai Monastery to a fellow temple named Nanshan Buddhist Temple in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. But the relevant authority in Jingdezhen informed Reimer's team that the name on that receipt does not match any registered institution. The receipt first raised suspicion because of the use of English and traditional Chinese on it.

At the press briefing, the actress-turned-lawyer slammed inadequate oversight of charitable organizations in Hong Kong. She said this has shaken donors' confidence and exposed the city to the risk of money laundering. She strongly urged Buddhist leaders to act responsibly.

The lawyer, who remains a director in the limited company that runs the monastery, launched the probe in summer after the nun declared herself "married" on an application form.

Following advice by law enforcement officers about her personal safety, as well as lawyers' caution over the potentially high stakes involved in pressing ahead with legal action, Reimer plans to take a break and leave town later this month.

The police are looking into the financial records in question. Reimer has demanded that the Department of Justice take over the investigation.

Chi-ding was arrested by the Immigration Department on Oct 14 for allegedly helping her monk husband to breach his conditions of stay.

kahon@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/18/2015 page8)