Singapore grapples with rash of phony monks

Singaporean buddhists often won't turn down someone in robes, religious officials say

SINGAPORE -- Police in Singapore are dealing with a growing number of bogus monks and nuns seeking to make a quick buck from gullible Singaporeans, a newspaper reported Sunday.

According to the English language Sunday Times 16 phony holy men and women were detained by the authorities in the first 10 weeks of this year -- the same number as were arrested in all of 2001.

Most of those held came from outside Singapore, the paper said.

"These fakes claim to be from Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and China and offer to perform religious rites to ward off bad luck and tell fortunes as well," a spokesman for the Singapore Buddhist Federation told the Times.

Legitimate monks and nuns in Singapore do not usually beg for alms in public, but when asked to by men or women in robes most Buddhists will make a donation the spokesman said.

Officials say many of the imposters work in conjunction with companies and direct those duped by the scam to specific shops for the purchase of overpriced ceremonial paraphernalia.

Other fake monks and nuns are reported to charge a fee of up to U.S.$50 to perform rites warding off bad luck.

"As Buddhists, we do not perform these rites at all, and people get taken in because they do not know," the Buddhist Federation's spokesman said.