'Gangster' monk 'throws fist and chair' at deceased's family at Bukit Merah wake

He was supposed to perform religious rites for the deceased but instead was caught on video arguing with the grieving family. 

A video clip posted by Facebook user Chu Pi Ka on April 29 showed the monk, dressed in a grey robe, yelling at another person in dialect: "What's the problem? It's your wife, right? Why can't she help?"

As the monk got more aggressive, a man tried to hold him back. Another person in the video also urged them not to fight. 

"Gangster monk, fight and throw fist and chair at the deceased family before ritual [sic]. Woman also beat," the Facebook user wrote. 

Chu Pi Ka also claimed that the monk's friend came out from a lorry with a four-foot-long stick and attempted to "cause harm to more people", but he was stopped. 

The pair allegedly fled the scene moments later. 

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident happened at the void deck of an HDB block at Delta Avenue.

The dispute occurred after the monk asked the deceased's family if they could move a speaker that he had used for religious rites into their house. 

The deceased's family did not agree to his request, and the situation escalated. 

When the Chinese daily contacted the deceased's family, they declined to comment on the incident, saying it was all in the past. 

A representative from the casket company handling the funeral told Shin Min that the deceased's family had hired the monk as he was a family friend. 

The dispute happened shortly before the casket was scheduled to depart for the crematorium, the representative said.

"We were frantically trying to arrange for another monk to come and conduct the rites, so that we could help the deceased's family." 

Shin Min also tried to contact the monk, but he refused to be interviewed. 

Responding to queries on the incident, a representative from the Singapore Buddhist Federation apologised to the deceased's family, and added that the monk's behaviour was unbecoming. 

Chu Pi Ka's Facebook post has since received over 200 reactions from netizens, and has been shared more than 600 times. 

In the comments, several netizens cast doubt on whether the man in the video was a real monk, or simply an imposter. 

AsiaOne has contacted Chu Pi Ka for more information. 

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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