Woman threw “firebombs” at Palm Beach County Buddhist temple, authorities say

A Riviera Beach woman is under arrest after investigators said she threw four Molotov cocktail incendiary bombs at a Buddhist temple in Palm Beach County over the weekend.

According to an arrest report, residents of the St. Dak Buddhist Temple, located at 6973 Donald Ross Road, found several burning items in the parking lot around 7.15am Sunday.

Detectives said the “improvised incendiary devices” were glass bottles and jars with a rag inside for the wick, along with citronella torch fuel used to ignite them.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said surveillance footage showed a woman, later identified as Mei Zhu Cheung, 46, throwing four firebombs at the temple door and putting a fifth lit bomb in a box to letters.

In the video, Cheung was seen driving a Toyota Sienna van, and a license plate search led authorities to his home in Riviera Beach, according to the arrest report.

Detectives said Cheung was also involved in a criminal mischief case at the Buddhist temple on September 12 when she spray painted vulgarities on the front door and sign.

Cheung is under arrest for possession of a firebomb and criminal mischief in a place of worship and is currently in the Palm Beach County Jail. In court on Monday, a judge set Cheung’s bail at $ 100,000.

Cheung’s family claim that she suffers from a mental illness. Her son told WPTV Contact 5 on Monday that his mother started acting strangely after going to the temple several times in 2016.

Cheung’s son said his mother “started acting weird after she left” and “kept saying that something had entered her.”

The sheriff’s office said detectives were discussing with the state attorney’s office whether the charges would be stepped up.

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