Mainland team heads to Taiwan to investigate death of monks
A six-member investigative team left Nanjing , in Jiangsu province , for Taiwan yesterday to seek more information on two mainland monks who died in suspicious circumstances on the island last week.
The monks - delegates of a visiting religious group - were found dead in their hotel in Hsinchu city, northern Taiwan. Taiwanese police said one monk, Chun Ru, murdered the other, Jing Ran, then jumped to his death from the 13th floor of the Forte Hotel.
Officers said Jing's face showed signs of trauma and he had been dead for a long time when his roommate jumped. Hotel video footage showed that no one else had entered the room.
The monks were from the famous Ling Gu Temple, in eastern Jiangsu. Jing was chief of the temple, while Chun was the temple supervisor.
The case was widely reported on both sides of the strait.
The investigative team includes Master Long Xiang, head of the Nanjing Buddhist Association, two religious affairs officials and two family members.
They would seek more information about the incident from Taiwanese police and deal with the aftermath of the deaths, Xinhua said.
Monks from the temple said Chun had become unsociable and aloof recently and fellow monks, including Jing, had been trying to console him, the agency said.
Delegation members said Chun felt uncomfortable during the flight to Taiwan and Jing offered to share a room with him to take care of him.
