Chief priest of Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple arrested over missing gold ornaments

SINGAPORE — The police have arrested the chief priest of the iconic Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple, for criminal breach of trust. 

A spokesperson of the temple said in a media statement on Saturday (Aug 1) night that it had lodged a police report after finding out that some gold ornaments had gone missing while in the custody of its chief priest.

The temple statement did not name the chief priest, but its website listed him as Mr Sivashri Kandasamy Senapathi.  

The police confirmed that a report was lodged, and that they have arrested a 36-year-old man for “criminal breach of trust as a servant”. 

Police investigations are ongoing.

The temple said the gold ornaments are frequently used for prayers and kept by its chief priest in the inner sanctum of the temple. 

“Regular audits are done to ensure that the gold ornaments are physically accounted for. During the last audit, it was discovered some gold ornaments were missing,” it said. 

“The chief priest was questioned, and he subsequently returned all missing gold ornaments. Further checks by the Temple Committee confirmed that all gold ornaments were fully accounted for,” it added. 

“As it appeared that an offence has been committed, a police report was lodged notwithstanding the fact that the temple suffered no loss. The police are investigating, and the chief priest is presently on bail.” 

Mr Sivashri Kandasamy Senapathi in this screengrab from a 2019 Hindu Endowments Board YouTube video.

The temple did not indicate when the loss was discovered but said no other person was involved in the incident. It added that it had kept the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) informed from the time it found the gold ornaments missing. 

When contacted by TODAY, Mr S Lakshmanan, chairman of Sri Mariamman Temple, confirmed the identity of its chief priest.

Mr Lakshmanan declined to comment further, citing the ongoing police investigations. HEB chief executive officer T Raja Segar also declined to comment, citing the same reason.

Located along South Bridge Road in Chinatown, the Sri Mariamman Temple is a popular tourist destination.

It dates back to 1827 and is now a national monument. 

Additional reporting by Nabilah Awang