New Jersey Buddhist temple targeted by thieves twice in three months
VOORHEES, N.J. - A New Jersey Buddhist temple in on high alert monks say the sanctuary was burglarized for the second time in three months.
Director of the Preah Buddha Rangsey Buddhist Temple Alexander Kahn said the alleged theft happened around 6 p.m. Wednesday and was all caught on camera.
The suspected thief is seen entering a building rummaging through personal items before casually leaving with a few hundred dollars stolen from another monk and an immigrant family.
"$100 is a lot from someone coming from Cambodia, going back to Cambodia people live off of a cup of rice," Khan said.
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He believe Wednesday's theft was carried out by someone from the same group that has tormented their temple before.
"They knew the landscape of the property like they were in there before," Khan said.
The Voorhees Police Department said a man was arrested on-site and charged with burglary and theft.
Last spring, Khan told FOX 29's Jennifer Joyce that their head monk thwarted a thief who was attempting to steal $12k that was intended for another monk's family in Cambodia.
The Voorhees Police Department said a man was arrested on-site and charged with burglary and theft.
Khan said the head monk was alerted of the intruder when their two guard dogs started barking, then he saw the crook on security camera.
The head monk ran after him in an effort to protect every one on site and tackled the alleged burglar like a football player.
"Our head monk was the lead tackler, he should be a football player if the eagles need him," Khan said.
Still, the recent spate of thefts have shaken the calm serenity that the temple tries to maintain.
"When I heard the terrible news my first thing is worry about safety of all monks here," Chief Monk Muni said. "People come here for peace and to do good deed."