Complaint about Shaolin Temple boss accepted by China's top prosecutors' office

The controversy surrounding Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin looks set to continue after the nation's top prosecutors' office accepted a complaint accusing him of a litany of offences.

But Yongxin isn't shying away from the limelight - he appeared in public yesterday at a Buddhist forum held at the temple in Dengfeng county, Zhengzhou in Henan province. A disciple said the abbot would "quash rumours with action" and he would be involved in other upcoming cultural events, according to the West China City Daily.

Earlier this month, Shi Yanlu, one of the abbot's former disciples, went to the authorities accusing the religious leader of graft, embezzlement, taking bribes, abuse of power, illegal detention and illegally holding Shaolin-owned assets.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, which supervises the government's anti-graft wing, has now accepted the ex-disciple's complaint.

The claims by Shi Yanlu came after a person going by the name Shi Zhengyi claimed online the abbot had been kicked out of the Shaolin Temple in the late 1980s, held duel identities, had sexual relations with several women and even fathered children - all forbidden by the code of conduct monks must follow.

The temple has denied all the accusations, describing them as "groundless, vicious and libellous" and says it has made a report to the police.