Kuala Lumpur  - An orange-robed monk from China was fined 50 ringgit (13.5 dollars) by a Malaysian judge for scolding and scaring a group of people who refused to give him alms, a news report said Tuesday.

Zhang Bo, 50, pleaded guilty to causing a public disturbance at a restaurant in the southern state of Johor on Friday, when customers there ignored his pleas for alms, the Star online news portal said.

Zhang apparently began making loud noises and scared the people in the restaurant, the report said. It did not detail what the monk actually did to scare the customers.

Zhang paid the fine and was released immediately, the report said.

Men dressed as orange-robed Buddhist monks, mostly from China and neighbouring Thailand, are commonly found roaming the streets of the larger cities in Malaysia, begging for alms.

Authorities have said many of them are unlikely to be authentic monks and have urged Malaysians to report their presence to local police. (dpa)