A neighborhood committee in Shanghai's Hongkou District says it doesn't know what to do about an elderly woman who has set up a Buddhist "temple" in her apartment, raising complaints about noise and fire risks from her neighbors.

Neighbors say the woman and her husband moved into a two-room apartment on Feihong Road in 2001.

Soon after, they converted the bigger of the two rooms into a Buddhist shrine and began holding religious ceremonies in the apartment.

Ever since the ceremonies began, neighbors have been complaining about noise and smoke from the "temple," according to the neighborhood committee.

It says worshipers are always dropping by the apartment and Buddhist monks are often invited to beat drums while chanting scriptures on important occasions, such as the birthday of Buddha.

"The old woman denies holding any public religious activities every time we go to investigate the complaints," said a neighborhood committee member surnamed Chen.

He refused to give the woman's name.

"She explained she was mourning her son who died years ago," Chen added.

The woman has repeatedly told authorities she isn't running a public place of worship, which is against the law, but simply allowing a few of her friends to drop by and use her shrine.

When a reporter from the Oriental Morning Post dropped by on Monday disguised as a devout Buddhist, however, she heard a different story.

"All the Buddhists here are invited from my hometown in Shaoxing (in Zhejiang Province)," the elderly woman told the reporter, before advising her to come very early in the morning next time when "there is less notice from others."

The paper said the family living opposite the old woman has moved away and a family living on the second floor sent their old parents elsewhere to "avoid the unbearable smell and noise."

Chen said both her colleagues and the local police have visited the old woman over the last few days since "it is dry recently and burning incense and candles is quite dangerous."

On February 15, 40 worshipers, all women, were killed by a temple fire in Haining City of east China's Zhejiang Province. Police said the fire, which occurred in a shed made of straw and bamboo, resulted from negligent worship activities by the senior villagers.

"Alarmed by such fire tragedy, we once again urge residents to be careful with family use of fire," said Zhou Meiliang, a spokesman for the city's Fire Control Bureau.

"We can examine public venues but we can not inspect private residences. We can only try to persuade individuals," he added.

While it is perfectly legal to worship Buddha, or Allah or Christ for that matter, in the city, it is illegal to set up any temple or place of worship without government approval.

(eastday.com February 26, 2004)