Monk apparently commits suicide amid criminal investigation into fraud

Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet Daily News

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Thich Nhuan Thu, a monk who had been named a person of interest in a suspicious fire, was found dead Thursday morning of an apparent suicide.

Investigators arrive at Tu Nghiem Temple on March 26th, where they found Thich Nhuan Thu dead of an apparent suicide. (Photo: Loan Ngo/Nguoi Viet)

His body was found hanging inside the temple at 5418 W. 4th St., the location of last month’s fire. Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, the Santa Ana Police Department spokesman, said an autopsy would be performed to determine an exact cause of death.

File photo of Thich Nhuan Thu sitting in the living room of the temple days after the Feb. 28 fire. (Photo: Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet)

The fire broke out at the temple on Feb. 28 and destroyed dozens of passports that Thu, the head monk, was holding for a pilgrimage he had planned for March 2. Authorities said the fire caused approximately $10,000 worth of damage to the structure and $3,000 to the contents.

“Investigators believe the fire was intentionally set and the investigation is still open and active,” said Steve Concialdi, an Orange County Fire Authority captain.

When disciples who had planned to journey to Vietnam heard about the fire, they gathered at the temple. There, they learned that no airline or hotel reservations had been made, even though they had paid nearly $2,700 each to take part in the trip. The Santa Ana Police Department launched a criminal investigation amid allegations of fraud and embezzlement.

The department named Thu a “person of interest” and detectives have interviewed many of those who lost money on a trip they didn’t take.

A statue of a Buddha sits inside the temple. (Photo: Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet)

Truc Tam, 67, of Santa Ana, wept quietly Thursday as she spoke to Nguoi Viet about Thich Nhuan Thu. She was one of the few who chose not to press Thu for reimbursement, even though she and her husband lost $5,400 for the canceled trip, plus another $1,000 she said the monk borrowed on the evening of the fire.

Tam said she treated Thu like a son and visited him days after the fire. She said she drove by several times and waited until no one else was there to have a private moment with the monk. Tam said that in those conversations, Thu told her he didn’t want to live anymore and that the pressure was too much. She said she tried to convince him not to do anything rash or harmful.

“I tried my best to let him know he wasn’t alone and that there was a lot of people who supported him,” she said. “My heart hurts for him the way I would hurt for my son if he was in a situation like this and he potentially made a big mistake. I am heartbroken.”

Thu’s death leaves unanswered questions and a trail of people who likely never will see the money they put toward the pilgrimage they had counted on Thu to plan for them.

Nguoi Viet spoke to Chon Hoa, 73, of Santa Ana, at the temple Wednesday, the day before Thu was found dead. She said she paid $3,200 for her and a friend in Vietnam to take part in the pilgrimage and was one of the first to demand answers when she heard about the fire. She said she was vocal in seeking payment from the monk, and he wrote her a check for $1,000 this past Saturday and gave her specific instructions to wait until Wednesday to cash it.

The check bounced Wednesday when she presented it at the bank, Hoa said, adding she wasn’t surprised and had grown weary of the situation.

Another disciple, who asked to remain anonymous, said her mother also was given a check by Thu for $2,700 and was told there were insufficient funds when she went to cash it. She said at this point, the lost money isn’t important, but she wants her mind to be at ease and wonders if the pressure from all the disciples demanding money contributed to his decision to take his life.

“I feel really bad. Its a bad ending. But there’s nothing we can do,” she said. “But we couldn’t not say anything to him.”

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