Buddhist monk in Hong Kong accused of misleading public over reasons for meat consumption

A monk and former head of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong has been accused of spreading misinformation about his reasons for consuming meat after admitting to doing so to supplement his protein intake.

A High Court writ reviewed by the Post on Friday claimed Buddhist monk Tam Wei-keong made false allegations to the public after a picture of him consuming a dish of meat was widely circulated on social media in March.

The writ was filed by a woman named Peggy Chen Kam-yee. Tam told reporters she had taken care of him and his diet in 2021 when he was medically advised to eat food rich in protein due to health reasons.

The pair’s relationship was not immediately clear in the court document, but Chen said she had known the monk as early as 2018 and was asked to prepare curry chicken, meat skewers, pork soup and others for Tam in their first encounter. In the following years, Chen said she had witnessed the monk eating meat “frequently”.

Chen, a director and shareholder of Austin School, an international institution in Tsim Sha Tsui, also did not deny preparing meat dishes for Tam.

She said she believed the monk’s explanation for his diet being different from other Buddhists because he said he was a Malaysian monk whose branch of Buddhism allowed him to “kill as many animals as he desired”.