FORMER SHAOLIN TEMPLE'S HEAD SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS

BEIJING, MAY 29 /SRNA-Reuters/ - Shi Yongxin, former abbot of China's Shaolin Temple, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for crimes including embezzlement and bribery, state media reported Friday.

Shi /60/ was charged in March this year after being placed under investigation in July last year.

A court in the central Chinese province of Henan handed the sentencing, saying Shi abused his roles to embezzle, misappropriate, and take and give bribes totaling around USD 44.33 million over nearly three decades.