Man pleads not guilty to Sanford Buddhist temple arson charge

Singhasouk Phanouvong entered a formal plea of not guilty regarding the Sanford Buddhist temple fire

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By Angel Green

SANFORD, Fla. — The man accused of setting fire to a Buddhist temple in Sanford has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.

Singhasouk Phanouvong (pronounced SEE-ah-nook Soo-fan-ew-vong) is charged in connection with the fire that broke out in May.

Sanford police say Phanouvong led officers on a multi-county chase before he was eventually taken into custody. Authorities tracked him across four different counties before placing him in handcuffs.

No additional details about a possible motive have been released.

Phanouvong is scheduled to return to court on September 9.

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