City Harvest case: Where the money went
SINGAPORE - With the arrest of City Harvest church founder Kong Hee as well as his suspension from its charity, the story of how financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the Charity's funds was discovered has been revealed.
In early 2010, the Commissioner of Charities (COC) received complaints alleging the misuse of the charity's funds. It informed the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) when it assessed that some of these financial transactions may need to be investigated by the CAD.
The COC's inquiry revealed misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity, particularly in relation to the funds that were in the Building Fund which had been raised and earmarked for specific purposes.
Financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the Charity's funds have been discovered.
These funds, said the COC, were used with the purported intention to finance Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career to connect with people.
This is the account as revealed by the COC.
The Crossover Project
In 2002, City Harvest founders Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun, also known as Sun Ho, embarked on a "Crossover Project". The stated intention was to use Sun Ho's secular music to connect with people and reach out to non-Christians.
In 2003, an individual alleged in the media that the charity was funding Sun Ho's music career.
However, this individual eventually issued a public apology and retracted his allegations. Facing media scrutiny, City Harvest issued press statements, as well as representations to its church members, that they had not funded Sun Ho's career.
However, COC's statement today indicated that City Harvest's funds were indeed used to fund the Crossover Project.
COC said that over a period of three years, from 2007 to 2010, at least $23 million was used. Executive members were not told of the actual purpose of the use of these funds.