B.C. lawsuit accuses Buddhist monk of abusing boy after mother granted guardianship

Warning: This story contains disturbing details of alleged child abuse.

A lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court alleges a boy who was placed in the care of a Buddhist monk was subjected to years of abuse while living at a Vancouver temple.

The lawsuit that seeks damages says the child was six when their mother, a Vietnamese refugee, assigned legal guardianship to the defendant monk and the boy was sent to live at the Chan Quang Temple in east Vancouver in 2003.

The notice of civil claim filed last week says the monk allegedly subjected the child to “polytraumatic abuse,” including burning him with boiling water, striking him with percussion mallet, whipping him with sticks and force-feeding the child until the point of sickness with salt, soy sauce and blueberries.

It says the child was