Monk charged with temple assault

A Buddhist monk was charged with assault yesterday after allegedly attacking a fellow worshipper at Wong Tai Sin Temple.

The 30-year-old monk, surnamed Ng, was standing outside the temple when a man kneeling beside him was pushed over by the large crowd and fell on to the monk's feet, witnesses said.

Temple staff said the man, 30, was kicked and received an injury to his left eye.

The victim, a mainlander on a two-way permit, was on his knees performing a ritual incense offering when the incident happened.

He fought back, witnesses said, and the two men were locked in a struggle when police, on standby crowd control duty, soon arrived to part them.

More than 10,000 people were at the temple to celebrate the traditional Chinese day of yan yat (everybody's birthday).

A temple administrator said: 'Kicking a man on his knees, that's a no-no for a monk.

'I don't know what he was doing here. We are a Taoist organisation and he is a Buddhist monk.

'Maybe he just wanted to join the fun.' Ng was released on a $1,000 bail and is due to appear at San Po Kong Court next Tuesday to answer a charge of assault causing injury.

The injured man was treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and discharged.