Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Former nun to sue Dalai Lama heir for child support

Former nun to sue Dalai Lama heir for child support

A potential successor to the Dalai Lama can be sued for maintenance and child support by a former nun, a Canadian court has ruled.

Vikki Hui Xin Han, who now lives in British Columbia, has alleged that she became pregnant after Ogyen Trinley Dorje sexually assaulted her at a monastery in New York in 2017.


Later it evolved into a “marriage-like relationship”, carried out online, during which he sent her more than $700,000, according to a supreme court ruling in the province.

Han is allowed to amend her child support lawsuit against Dorje — known to his millions of followers as His Holiness - to include spousal support.

Dorje was identified as the 17th incarnation of the Karmapa Lama, the head of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as a child in 1992.

However, Dorje denies having any relationship with Han but acknowledges sending her money “for the benefit of the child the claimant told him was his daughter”, the ruling says.

As The Times reported, none of the allegations have been proven in court.

According to the ruling, Dorje, at the age of 14 fled Chinese-controlled Tibet for the Dalai Lama’s compound in India. He still lives in India.

He is one of the two claimants to his title.

More For You

Catherine West to 'challenge Starmer for Labour leadership'

Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to media as he reacts to the local Council Election results at AFC Wimbledon on May 9, 2026 in London, England.

(Photo by Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)

Catherine West to 'challenge Starmer for Labour leadership'

Highlights

  • Starmer says he will lead Labour into the next general election and serve a full second term
  • Catherine West, a former junior minister, says she has ten MPs behind her but hopes a stronger candidate will emerge
  • Labour suffered its worst local election losses by a governing party since 1995
  • More than 20 MPs have publicly or privately called on Starmer to quit

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer is facing a direct challenge to his leadership after a former minister threatened to stand against him on Monday (11) unless his cabinet moves to replace him — but he has vowed to fight on, insisting his government is a "ten-year project".

Keep ReadingShow less