New round of burglaries hits Buddhist temples

Police in Philadelphia are investigating a series of burglaries to hit Buddhist temples there.

It’s the latest in a string of incidents targeting temples in various parts of the United States.

So far authorities haven’t said if the burglaries are connected.

ABC6 reported October 24 that leaders of the Lao Buddhist Temple discovered after returning from a funeral that their place of worship had been ransacked.

The culprits made off with thousands of dollars in donations as well as other items.

“For me, it’s really hard to forgive and forget,” said Nancy Keoma. “I work really hard for this temple.”

On October 8, someone also hit the Bensalem Thai Temple 20 miles outside Philadelphia in broad daylight and on October 14, a Laotian temple in Morris, CT was nearly robbed. According to an account on Facebook known as Lao Dhamma Talk, there were 4 other suspects who showed up in 2 separate vehicles. Members there were able to thwart the robbers from coming into the premises, but surveillance cameras could not capture the suspects’ license plates.

Since December, AsAmNews has reported on break-ins and attempted burglaries at Buddhist temples from Fresno, California to Hanover County, Virginia.

There have also been burglaries in Spokane, WA and Rockford, Illinois. Incidents have also been reported in Tennessee and Texas.

One member of the Southeast Asian community says concern is growing.

“While these crimes still plague most of the Laotian, Thai, and Cambodian communities and other Buddhist communities, there hasn’t been any word from authorities in Philladelphia and other cities citing that these crimes are related to previous incidents in other cities. HOWEVER, many users (Laotian, Thai, and Cambodian) still point out that similar incidents continue to happen in their cities,” he told AsAmNews.

Federal authorities say crime rings have been targeting Asian-owned businesses and residents throughout the United States. Authorities say these rings believe that Asians keep a large amount of cash and jewelry in their homes.