TC Brussels – the trial for the OKC religious community will start on Monday
The trial for the Ogyen Kunzang Choling religious community, presented as a Buddhist religious centre, will start on Monday. It will be handled by the 89th Brussels Correctional Tribunal. The Public Minister considers the OKC a sect, and its members have been accused of fraud, among other things. The OKC founder in Belgium, Robert.S, has also been charged with immoral behaviour.
The OKC trial will start on Monday, and there will sessions on the 5th, 7th, 8th, 18th, 19th, 21st and 22nd of January, and the 25th, 26th, 28th and the 29th of January if necessary.
In this case, 11 moral and physical people linked to the OKC are suspected of scamming around a dozen people and of abusing their trust as part of the Buddhist community's activities. These incidents date from between 1975 and 2008.
Robert.S, known as "Lama Kunsang", the OKC founder in Belgium, is also been charged with immoral behaviour dating from 2007.
The first section of the case covers 117 offenses such as fraud, counterfeiting, tax fraud, scamming, extortion, laundering, abuse of trust, breaking social laws, bearing a false name, taking hostages, and associating with criminals and criminal organizations.
The second section of the case contains accusations of raping a minor in Aiseau-Presles, in Hainaut, of which Robert.S alone is suspected. Robert.S went there in 2001, completely violating his parole conditions, after his 1997 conviction as part of the first section of the case.
An investigation was opened due to a complaint submitted in 2007. It was a rape accusation with sequestion of a minor aged more than 16 who he had authority over, between 2001 and 2002.
Robert.S, who today lives in Spain, is in bad health, his lawyer said. He will therefore not be at his trial.
Jason Bennett (Source: Belga)