DNA testing of people at "Bong Lai hermitage"

There are 23 people living at Bong Lai Monastery whose DNA samples have been taken, including 10 children. (Source: tuoitre.vn)

On September 24, information from the Long An Provincial Police Investigation Security Agency said that a decision had been made to restore the handling of the criminal report on the act of "fraudulent appropriation of property" against Mr. Le Tung Van and a number of people living at Ms. Cao Thi Cuc's household in Lap Thanh Hamlet, Hoa Khanh Tay Commune, Duc Hoa District, Long An Province (also known as "Bong Lai Monastery" or "Zen Am on the Edge of the Universe").

To conduct the investigation steps and clarify the denunciation report about “Fraudulent appropriation of property,” on September 24, the Long An Provincial Police Department’s Investigation Security Agency went to Ms. Cao Thi Cuc’s house to take samples for DNA testing to confirm the blood relationship (DNA) of the children and adults living there.

Twenty-three people living here were sampled, including 10 children.

According to the Long An Provincial Police Department's Security Investigation Agency, recently, there have been reports and accusations that the children at "Bong Lai Monastery" are not orphans as Mr. Le Tung Van and the adults living there have reported.

Mr. Le Tung Van and the adults at "Bong Lai Monastery" pretended to raise orphans to defraud, receive sponsorship, and appropriate property.

Therefore, the authorities took DNA samples to determine whether the adults and children living at Ms. Cao Thi Cuc's household were related or not.

Previously, Long An Provincial Police received many complaints accusing some people living at "Bong Lai Monastery" of committing many illegal acts.

However, based on available documents and evidence, the authorities have focused on investigating and prosecuting many individuals for the crime of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals as prescribed in Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code, supplemented and amended in 2017.

On July 21, the People's Court of Duc Hoa district sentenced six defendants to five years in prison; Le Thanh Hoan Nguyen, Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen, and Le Thanh Trung Duong were each sentenced to four years in prison; Le Thanh Nhi Nguyen was sentenced to three years and six months in prison; and Cao Thi Cuc was sentenced to three years in prison.

All 6 defendants have submitted a petition to the People's Court of Long An province to appeal the first instance judgment of the People's Court of Duc Hoa district.

According to VNA