Report: Chinese policeman kills Tibetan monk

BEIJING – A Chinese policeman shot and killed the head of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery after he and other monks demanded that police pay for medical treatment the monks sought after allegedly being beaten in custody, a U.S.-based broadcaster reported Saturday.

Several other people were hurt in the Sept. 14 incident in Darlag County, in the western province of Qinghai, which abuts Tibet, Radio Free Asia said, citing unidentified witnesses.

Radio Free Asia said She Tse, the head monk of the Golok Topden Monastery, went to the county police station to demand reimbursement for medical treatment of monks who were detained for two days and beaten by police in a dispute with an innkeeper.

“In the tension the police officer shot She Tse and killed him,” RFA quoted an unidentified witness as saying. “Several others are injured.”

Police reinforcements were brought in from surrounding areas amid reports that residents of Darlag County were planning protests, RFA said, citing unidentified sources.

The incident comes amid reports of tightened government controls on ethnic Tibetans and Buddhist religious activities in areas outside Tibet proper.