VietNamNet Bridge - After monks at a pagoda in southern Soc Trang Province suspected two novices of stealing money, they beat and forced the novices to put their hands in a pan of boiling water to prove their innocence.

The two novices.

Venerable Monk Tang Hoanh Na, the manager of Tang Du Pagoda in Lac Hoa commune, Vinh Chau town, Soc Trang Province, said on Monday that the incident was regrettable and that the pagoda management board would take responsibility for it.

The two novices were Thach Mai (15) and Thach Loc (18), who are studying Buddhism at the pagoda.

On March 14, when the pagoda’s manager was absent, the pagoda lost VND1.1 million ($50). All monks were gathered for questioning and examination.

In turn, each person was questioned in a room and they were asked to dip their hands into cold water to prove that they did not take the money.

However, the two novices were forced to dip their hands into a pot of boiling water. The thought was: "If their hands are not injured by boiling water, it means that the two novices did not steal".

The hands of two novices were severely burnt.

Novice Thach Loc said: “The monks asked us to put my hands into boiling water three times to prove our innocence. After the first time, as it was overheating, I ran away into the corner of the room and was beaten by other monks until I fainted. But Thach Mai had to dip his hands into boiling water three times.”

The two novices were confined for three days and they were asked to not tell anyone about the incident.

Dr. Huynh Van On, who treated the two novices at Vinh Chau Town Hospital, said they were brought to the hospital on March 17, with two seriously burned hands. They are still in the hospital.

On Monday the families of the novices asked for a police investigation.

Venerable Monk Tang Hoanh Na told Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper that the pagoda management board met with the monks involved in the incident and asked them to offer an apology to the novices and their families. The pagoda will pay the entire cost of treatment for the novices.

The same day, Tran Minh Cuong, chairman of Hoa Lac commune, said the local government had invited the two parties to the government headquarters for mediation, but they could not reach a consensus.

Cuong confirmed that local authorities would deal with the case under the law.

Thu Ly