A court in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has sentenced two men to death and a third to three years in jail for their involvement in the murder of a British Tibetan Living Buddha.
The Intermediate People's Court in Chengdu, Sichuan Province announced the verdict on Friday, the China News Service reported on Sunday.
The two men sentenced to death have filed an appeal. The third said he needs time to decide whether to file an appeal to a higher court.
Tarap Shetrup Akong, also known as Akong Rinpoche, was stabbed to death in a financial dispute at his home in Chengdu on October 8, 2013.
According to Chengdu police, one of the suspects had gone to the UK to work as a painter and sculptor for Akong's monastery. After returning to China in 2011, the suspect claimed that Akong owed him 2.7 million yuan ($410,670) in wages and brought his two friends in his visit to Akong's home to demand payment.
The three suspects, all ethnic Tibetans, attacked Akong after failing to collect the money. Two suspects stabbed Akong, Akong's nephew and a driver in the room to death. The third suspect helped hide the weapons after they fled Akong's residence.
The Intermediate People's Court in Chengdu said the murder was brutal and had left serious consequences, and therefore the suspects in the case should be severely punished according to law.
Akong is a renowned figure in the Tibetan Buddhist community, having co-founded the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Eskdalemuir Langholm in 1967 in the Scottish Borders. The monastery is the first Tibetan Buddhist center established in the West.
He had frequently traveled between China and the UK and devoted a considerable amount of time to charity work.
