As the Buddhist Association of China appointed its new head, authorities have remained quiet on the punishment for a top monk who held the position before being accused of sexually assaulting nuns.

Shi Yanjue, who had been temporarily heading the association since the resignation of Shi Xuecheng, was formally appointed as chairperson on Tuesday, according to the organization’s account on China’s microblogging platform Weibo.

Xuecheng was accused in 2018 of sexually harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous nuns. He was transferred to a small temple in his native Fujian after the National Religious Affairs Administration confirmed the allegations against him.

The NRAA ordered the association to punish Xuecheng and a police investigation was said to be underway. However, no information has been made available to date on what penalties Xuecheng would face.

On top of being a religious leader, Xuecheng was also a political advisor to China’s central government.

The association’s new head, Yanjue, was born in 1955 in Gansu, a landlocked province in northwestern China. He became a monk at 27 years old.

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