Northern Hai Duong Province Police this morning arrested two local teenagers for allegedly killing a pagoda keeper and stealing donations made to the Minh Giam pagoda in Thanh Ha District.


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Police examine the scene where Minh Giam Pagoda’s keeper is found dead.

The pagoda keeper, Nguyen Huu Kich, 76, was found dead at the pagoda yesterday morning, with rags stuffed in his mouth. His two mobile phones and money from the donation box were reportedly stolen.

Initial investigations helped police identify two suspects, Nguyen Huu Son, 15, and Nguyen Huy Duong, 14, who were reportedly at the pagoda when the murder occurred. When police arrived to question them, they were told the duo had taken a taxi to Ha Noi.

The taxi driver told police they had paid him in small change, which is typically used for donations when visiting pagodas in Viet Nam.

The two suspects were caught in Hà Nội with the two mobile phones of the victim and a sum of VNĐ 850,000 (US$38).

They confessed to using an iron stick to beat the pagoda keeper to death before stealing the money. The case is under further investigation.

VNS