According to initial investigation results, the amount of merit money that should have been counted, publicly disclosed and managed according to regulations has been kept out of books in many cash checks.
This act is said to have occurred since the end of 2022, lasting for a long time with the amount of money up to billions of VND.
The prosecuted defendants are all people assigned the responsibility of managing, counting or supervising the source of donation money. They are trusted in protecting common property, but take advantage of the community's trust for personal gain.
The danger of this behavior is not only in the amount of money lost.
Donation money is originally a resource to serve the preservation of relics, repair of works, and organization of cultural and religious activities.
Cong Duc money is also a sending of faith, each banknote that people put into the donation box is a sincere respect for gods, ancestors, for cultural and religious values preserved through many generations.
That source of money is appropriated or used for the wrong purpose, the damage is not only money but also reduces the value of spiritual cultural institutions.
Reality shows that in many places, the management of donation money still has loopholes, such as manual counting, lack of independent supervision or overlapping management responsibilities between many units.
Those loopholes inadvertently create conditions for greed to creep in.
It is necessary to affirm that belief is a legitimate need of the people and is protected by law. Therefore, anyone who takes advantage of religious activities for personal gain must be strictly handled.
Handling to prevent those who play the role of relic management but want to turn donation boxes into "private safes".
The incident at Ky Cung Temple is also a warning to the management of donation money nationwide. The more tourist-attracting places with large donation sources, the more transparent they must be.
From sealing donation boxes, counting, accounting to publicizing revenue and expenditure, all need to be carried out strictly, with the supervision of functional agencies and the community.
Transparency does not reduce spiritual values. Conversely, transparency is the best way to protect the sanctity of religious establishments and strengthen people's trust.
What people want at this time is not only to strictly handle violating individuals but also to clarify the entire cash flow, thoroughly recover lost assets and close loopholes in management.
Once trust is stolen, it will be much harder to regain than the lost money.
