Beijing: A 16-year-old Tibetan Buddhist
monk, who died after setting himself on fire in China during
an anti-government protest coinciding with the third
anniversary of the Lhasa riots, was cremated on Saturday.
Rigzin Phuntsog, a monk at Kirti Monastery, set
himself on fire in Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in
southwest Sichuan Province was cremated in accordance with
Tibetan rituals, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Rigzin Phuntsog was rushed to a nearby hospital after
setting himself on fire. However, a group of monks from Kirti
Monastery forcibly took him out and hid him inside the
monastery, the report quoted officials as saying.
The monks finally allowed Rigzin Phuntsog`s mother to
take him to hospital again, after long hours of negotiations.
The monk died on early Thursday, the officials said.
"The hospital tried its best. Five or six doctors gave
him emergency treatments. But it was too late since the
treatment was delayed for 11 hours," the report quoted monk`s
father, Tsenam Tashi, a 55-year-old herdsman in Aba County as
saying.
The monk`s attempt commit self immolation came around
the anniversary of the Lhasa riots of March 2008, in which 18
people were killed and several hundred injured.
PTI
