City Harvest Church founder faces the music

[StarshipTroopers]

City Harvest trial: Finance manager concedes her action may have deceived auditors

Published on Sep 26, 2014 3:56 PM

City Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan broke down on the stand on Friday, even as she conceded that information she had inserted into church board meeting minutes may have deceived auditors. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan broke down on the stand on Friday, even as she conceded that information she had inserted into church board meeting minutes may have deceived auditors.

Choking up under cross-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Chionh, the 39-year-old said: "Your honour, it might be seen like they are being deceived, but... it wasn't my intention."

Tan had inserted information into the document, dated Sept 12, 2009, that the board had approved "advance rental" payments to music production firm Xtron of $7 million per year for eight years - part of a plan to purge bonds held in the firm from the church's books.

The court heard that the information was false, as no such approval was received from the board on that day.

Tan is one of six people, including founding pastor Kong Hee, accused of misusing $50 million of church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, and covering up the misuse. The prosecution believes that all of the accused, except Tan, channelled money from the church's building fund into sham bond investments in Xtron, which is Ms Ho's management company, and glass manufacturer Firna. Four of them, including Tan, then allegedly devised transactions to clear the sham bonds from CHC's accounts to throw auditors off the scent.

Friday's hearing has centred on the church's book-keeping, with Tan taking the stand for the tenth day. This is the third time she has broken down on the stand.

 

[StarshipTroopers]

City Harvest trial: Finance manager Sharon Tan was 'part of plan to purge bonds'

DPP says Tan was 'actively involved', but she denies it

Published on Sep 26, 2014 8:12 AM

Finance manager Sharon Tan has tried to downplay her role in the alleged cover-up of the misuse of the church's funds. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Ian Poh

Far from being the innocent follower she painted herself to be, the prosecution yesterday charged that City Harvest Church (CHC) finance manager Sharon Tan was well aware of plans to "round-trip" church funds to throw auditors off the scent.

The prosecution added that the 39-year-old had been "actively involved" in the plan to purge the bonds held by the church in two firms, to avoid scrutiny.

The plan, comprising a series of transactions involving various entities, was mooted by former fund manager Chew Eng Han.

Citing correspondence that took place via e-mail, BlackBerry messaging and face-to-face meetings between Tan, Chew, former finance manager Serina Wee and deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Chionh pointed out that Tan had taken part in asking questions about the plan and eventually agreed to it, even if the idea had come from Chew.

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Updated: 09/26/2014 15:57 | By Channel NewsAsia

CHC finance manager asked about altered minutes for board meeting

SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan broke down on Friday (Sep 26), her eleventh day on the stand.

The 39-year-old was being questioned by Chief Prosecutor Mavis Chionh about the minutes that she had recorded of a board meeting on Sep 12, 2009.

The minutes stated that the board had considered and approved advance rental to be paid to Xtron Productions at a rate of S$7million per annum over eight years, so the production house could help the church secure a venue for its growing congregation. But Tan admitted that the figures had not been brought up at that meeting and was only reported to the board after Sep 12, 2009.

Ms Chionh had questioned why it was difficult for Tan to reflect decisions that were made at the meeting in the meeting's minutes: "Why do you have to go back in time to insert the information in an earlier set of minutes?"

To that, Tan replied that the board had been informed at the meeting of the plan for advance rental to be paid and that "in essence, it was the same".

Ms Chionh then pressed on: "If that's what they said from the minutes, that the auditors understand that the board approved S$7million a year for eight years on Sep 12, 2009, that understanding has to be false, because no such approval of those figures happened on Sep 12, 2009. Correct?"

Tan said she could not "agree fully", although the prosecution repeated the question a number of times. Presiding Judge of the State Courts See Kee Oon then intervened: "If I read that statement there, I would understand that those figures were approved on Sep 12, 2009. Does this help you to understand the question? So what is your answer?" That was when Tan conceded the point.

The prosecution then put its case that Tan inserted the information to deceive the auditors. Tan said: "It might be seen that they (the auditors) are being deceived but it wasn't my intention."

Her voice then broke as she cried, and the court session was temporarily adjourned. Since taking the stand, this is the third time that Tan has broken down in tears.

After the break, the prosecution continued its cross-examination, claiming the church's board had not told about the full advanced rental arrangement, as well as other transactions during the board meetings.

It is the prosecution's case that Tan, together with three other accused, Chew Eng Han, Serina Wee and Tan Ye Peng, had conspired to devise the series of "round-tripping" transactions, creating the false impression that sham bonds in Xtron and Firna had been redeemed, to defraud auditors into believing that the bonds were not an issue.

The trial continues on Monday. - CNA/xy/dl

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Updated: 09/30/2014 22:54 | By Channel NewsAsia

CHC trial: 'Related party transactions' were main concern, says church finance manager

SINGAPORE: Taking the stand for the 13th day, City Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan on Tuesday (Sep 30) reiterated that her main concern was about "related party transactions" in the church's investments. The 39-year-old said so in response to questions from her lawyer, Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh, during re-examination.

Tan is one of six leaders charged with misusing millions of dollars of church funds to boost the career of singer Sun Ho, the wife of church founder Kong Hee. They are accused of doing so through sham bond investments in two companies, production house Xtron and glassware manufacturer Firna, and then covering them up.

On Tuesday, the court was shown an email dated May 2009, where fund manager Chew Eng Han, who is also one of the accused, had proposed a plan for the redemption of Xtron bonds.

This involved the church paying Xtron a large amount as advance rental for it to secure premises for church services and activities. The advance rental could then contribute towards redemption of the bonds.

Under the plan, part of the advance rental would also be used to buy the artiste management rights for Sun Ho from Ultimate Assets, a company owned by Indonesian businessman and church member, Wahju Hanafi.

Ho's recording and launching of secular music albums was part of the church's Crossover Project, which aimed to evangelise and influence those who would never choose to step into a church.

Tan had understood that any links between the project and the church would have to be discreet for the project to be "as secular as possible" so that it would not be jeopardised. As such, she had concerns that the advance rental from the church that was used to buy the rights from Ultimate Assets, would be seen by auditors.

Tan said that this may give rise to the issue of related party transactions, which would lead to disclosure of the links between the church and companies such as Ultimate Assets.

- CNA/dl

 

[StarshipTroopers]

City Harvest trial: Finance manager Sharon Tan 'only had church at heart'

Tan tells court she was fully dedicated to church and its Crossover Project

Published on Oct 3, 2014 8:04 AM

City Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan (above) and founding pastor Kong Hee are among six people who are accused of misusing $50 million of church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, and covering up the misuse.

By Ian Poh

CITY Harvest Church finance manager Sharon Tan wanted only to protect the church's interests when she got involved in alleged plans to round-trip church funds.

In fact, the 39-year-old was so dedicated to helping the church secure premises for services that she brought work to the hospital when she was about to give birth in January 2010, the court heard yesterday.

"All of us worked very hard for the building, to the extent that when I had my third son... I worked on the hospital bed. The moment I was discharged, I continued to work," Tan told the court while she was questioned by her lawyer.

"Never have I had any intention to cause any loss to the church."

 

[StarshipTroopers]

City Harvest sues ex-fund manager for $21m

Ian Poh My Paper Thursday, Dec 18, 2014

City Harvest Church (CHC) is suing its former fund manager and his firm for almost $21 million in unreturned investments, including $4.6 million in interest.

But Chew Eng Han, sole director of Amac Capital Partners, insists that the church had used his firm as a vehicle to lend out money. He also claims that a personal guarantee he had signed for the investments was just to "comfort" the CHC board, and he was promised that it would not be enforced.

Chew, who left CHC in June last year after 17 years, is one of the six people who have been accused in a separate criminal case of misusing church funds and/or falsifying accounts.

They include the church's founder Kong Hee and former finance manager Serina Wee. Chew, who is defending himself in the long-running criminal trial, will take the stand when it resumes on Jan 26.

On Oct 10, the megachurch filed court papers claiming that Amac, its investment manager, had "solicited" it to participate in its special opportunities fund on Mar 17, 2009.

But Amac requested more time to return the money, given in four tranches between November 2009 and May 2010, along with the promised interest, the church added. The church agreed, but also increased the interest rates.

It said that even though Amac returned some of the money, it was still owed $20.99 million.

Chew rejected the claims in his written defence filed on Nov 18.

According to him, the church had set up the special opportunities fund in 2009 so it could lend "surplus funds" to Akihiko Matsumura of biotech firm Transcu Group, which has since changed its name to OLS Enterprise.

Chew also claimed that $350,000 was loaned to former CHC investment committee member Charlie Lay on the instructions of the church's deputy senior pastor, Tan Ye Peng, who is also one of those facing criminal charges.

Documents provided by Amac, stating the firm's debt to CHC, were merely "letters of comfort" to appease the church, Chew claimed.

The church's written reply to his defence, filed on Dec 9, states that it was never in the business of moneylending. Instead, the investments were commercial transactions with guaranteed returns.

CHC also denied having any contact with Mr Matsumura and said it was not aware that money would be loaned to him.

Nichol Yeo Lai Hock of JLC Advisors, who is representing the church, declined to comment.

Chew is represented by A. Rajandran for the civil suit, while Amac does not have a lawyer.

A pre-trial conference has been fixed for next Tuesday.

 

[Untouchables]

City Harvest trial: Former fund manager points finger at other accused

Published on Jan 26, 2015 1:56 PM

Chew faces six counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and four of falsifying accounts. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

By Ian Poh And Hoe Pei Shan

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church's former fund manager on Monday told the court that if any funds had been misused as alleged, the blame lay with other church leaders who had discretion over how the money was spent.

Referring to several exhibits including e-mails and mobile text messages, Chew Eng Han, in his first day on the stand, sought to show that church founding pastor Kong Hee, deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, and former finance manager Serina Wee were the key decision makers of the allocation of money.

As the trial entered its 89th day, the 54-year-old Chew, who is conducting his own defence, claimed he had been responsible for the structuring of the financial instrument, and not the usage of the proceeds.

"A bond cannot be a sham... a bond is a bond…(and) only becomes a sham if the proceeds of the bond have been misused," he told the court.

Chew faces six counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and four of falsifying accounts. He is one of six people, including Kong, Tan and Wee, who are accused of misusing $50 million of church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, and covering up the misuse.

The prosecution believes that five of the accused, including Chew, channelled money from the church's building fund into sham bond investments in Xtron - Ms Ho's management company - and glass manufacturer Firna.

Four of them, including Chew, then allegedly devised transactions to take the sham bonds off City Harvest Church's accounts so as to throw the auditors off.

A member of the church since 1995, Chew held various positions on the CHC Board until his resignation in 2007 when his company, Amac Capital Partners, was appointed as the church's fund manager.

He left the church completely in 2013, later telling the court that one reason for his departure was because Kong "deceived the people closest to (him)".

Throughout his cross-examinations of the other defendants who have testified, Chew had painted Kong as a liar and tried to distance himself from any schemes he claimed had been hatched before he got involved.

The megachurch filed court papers against Amac in October last year, and is suing Chew for almost $21 million in unreturned investments, including $4.6 million in interest. Chew had rejected the claims in his written defence filed on Nov 18.

 

[General Veers]

City Harvest trial: Former fund manager says he was bound by confidentiality

Published on Jan 27, 2015 2:13 PM

Former fund manager Chew Eng Han, one of the six members of City Harvest Church accused of criminal breach of trust, told the court on Tuesday that he would have done things differently and more openly, had he not been bound by a "duty to confidentiality". -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Hoe Pei Shan

SINGAPORE - One of the six members of City Harvest Church accused of criminal breach of trust told the court on Tuesday that he would have done things differently and more openly, had he not been bound by a "duty to confidentiality".

Former church fund manager Chew Eng Han, 54, in his second day on the witness stand, tried to show that the secrecy had been because of church founder Kong Hee.

"Kong Hee was stressing on confidentiality," he said.

The church's apparent lack of disclosure over funding, and lackadaisical progress of its evangelising project through the music of pastor Kong's wife Ho Yeow Sun, has been questioned repeatedly by the prosecution, which has alleged that $50 million in church funds were misused.

Yesterday, Chew said: "As a professional fund manager, we do have a duty to confidentiality, for instance, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is appointed to government officials, and owes a duty to government officials to only reveal what the people appointing them agree to, although the monies belong to the public."

He was thus similarly "bound by the professional requirements not to even tell the church executive members" about investments made on behalf of the church through bonds.

Had he not been "under authority", Chew said he would have held a meeting to tell church members about the bonds and evangelising project.

"If I had a choice, I would have disclosed, because after all it was people's money, but for the sake of privacy, and for the sake of preserving the project...I went along with it," said Chew.

He added that he had taken Kong's instruction "as spiritual wisdom" and not "part of a conspiracy".

[email protected]

 

[ShangTsung]

City Harvest trial: 'Suntec tender was rigged'

Ronald Loh The New Paper Monday, Feb 02, 2015

Chew Eng Han, who is conducting his own defence, says that when the budget for the Crossover project swelled from $13 million to $24 million, he assumed the increase was simply due to the project “getting bigger.

We were sure we had won it but we were played out.

Former City Harvest Church (CHC) fund manager Chew Eng Han was referring to the church's bid for a stake in Suntec Convention Centre in mid 2009.

Despite supposedly submitting a higher bid, it lost the tender to its only competitor.

When Chew was cross-examined by co-accused Sharon Tan's lawyer, Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh, on the church's property search, he said there was foul play in the bidding process.

"We got played out by the owners of Suntec. And the whole tender was rigged," he told the court.

On Thursday, Chew testified during his examination-in-chief that the competitor had called him right after the closing of the tender and they revealed their bids to each other.

"We put in $230 million and (they) put in $225 million. And the owners (of Suntec)... told us we were not the highest bid. The highest was $235 million," Chew told the court on Thursday.

He also presented an e-mail to the court quoting one of his associates, who was then on the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) board, as saying that "CHC was under URA's radar and (it was) most likely difficult to get an approval for church purposes for a land downtown".

 

[ShangTsung]

City Harvest's founder Kong Hee accused by church's ex-fund manager of lying to court

Published on Feb 2, 2015 1:56 PM

City Harvest Church's former fund manager Chew Eng Han (left) on Monday accused founding pastor Kong Hee (right) of lying to the court over the level of control he had over the Crossover Project. -- ST PHOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church's former fund manager on Monday accused founding pastor Kong Hee of lying to the court over the level of control he had over the Crossover Project, which involved using his wife's secular music as an evangelising tool.

"That's a lie," replied Chew Eng Han, when Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong brought up the claim by Kong that he had no role in deciding the finances for Ms Ho Yeow Sun's music album project.

While being cross-examined by the prosecution, the 54-year-old Chew did not hesitate to cast doubt on the veracity of a series of claims Kong made when taking the stand last year. These included claims that the directors of Xtron, Ms Ho's artiste management firm, had independently decided on the project's budget, and that Kong did not generally make the decisions.

"In other words, he's lied about this position of control over (the) album," DPP Ong also asked. Chew, who quit the church in 2013 after 18 years of service, replied: "Yes".

The Crossover project lies at the heart of a long-running criminal case involving six of the megachurch's leaders. They have been accused of misusing some $50 million of church funds to boost Ms Ho's music career, and then orchestrating "sham" financial transactions to mask the alleged wrongdoing.

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Kong 'lied about control of Crossover Project'

Ian Poh The Straits Times Thursday, Feb 05, 2015

"I never had bad intentions to cause loss to the church," said Chew Eng Han. "Everything I did, I did it for God, and for Kong Hee (inset), whom I thought was the man of God."

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church's former fund manager yesterday accused founding pastor Kong Hee of lying about how much control he had over the Crossover Project, which involved using his wife's secular music as an evangelising tool.

"That's a lie," said Chew Eng Han, when asked if Kong had been right to claim he was not involved in the financing of Xtron, the production company set up by church leaders which managed the music career of Ms Ho Yeow Sun.

Chew's reply was part of a series of exchanges with Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong, who presented a list of claims made by Kong when he took the stand last year.

And the 54-year-old Chew, who quit the church in 2013 after 18 years of service, unhesitatingly rejected Kong's claims.

"So Kong... has testified that the budget was actually decided by the Xtron directors," DPP Ong said. "Is that correct?"

"No," Chew said.

"He has testified that the Xtron directors would independently decide if there was money to carry out the budgeted plans. Is he correct?"

"No," Chew repeated.

Kong, the prosecutor continued, has generally taken the position that he did not exercise overall control over the project.

Was that correct?

Chew again said no.

And was it correct to say, in other words, that Kong had lied about his position of control over the project and the budget of Ms Ho's music production?

Yes, Chew said.

The Crossover Project lies at the heart of a long-running criminal case involving six of the megachurch's leaders, including Kong and Chew.

They have been accused of misusing some $50 million of church funds to boost Ms Ho's music career, and then orchestrating "sham" financial transactions to mask the alleged wrongdoing.

Yesterday, the prosecution also questioned Chew on other matters to do with Xtron and the Crossover Project, which involved the production of a pop album by Ms Ho in America.

The album was not released.

He said that he was "not sure" whether he had informed the church's auditor in 2007 that Xtron had been incorporated by the church specially for the Crossover.

DPP Ong also charged that Chew had not told the auditor about how much control the church, Kong and deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng had over Xtron and its directors.

"Yes, your Honour, because at that point...I didn't know about the degree of control," Chew said.

He admitted that it was inaccurate to have told the auditor instead that Xtron was started in 2003 to manage CHC's future building or to be an events management company.

Mr Ong then charged that the aim of describing Xtron's incorporation in that way was to deceive the auditor as to the actual relationship between Xtron, the church and Ms Ho's music career.

Chew, who is conducting his own defence, disagreed.

 

[ShangTsung]

'Church- Xtron link concealed to hide fund use'

Ian Poh The Straits Times Friday, Feb 06, 2015

Chew Eng Han, former fund manager of City Harvest Church (CHC), exits the State Courts during lunch time on 3 February, 2015.

CITY HARVEST TRIAL

DPP: Aim was not to protect evangelical mission but hide use of fund for Ho's career

The close ties between City Harvest Church (CHC) and production firm Xtron were concealed to hide the use of church money in funding Ms Ho Yeow Sun's music career - not, as claimed by founding pastor Kong Hee, because the ties would jeopardise her "undercover" mission to evangelise in China.

This was one of the prosecution's arguments yesterday as it continued to shine the spotlight on the megachurch's former fund manager Chew Eng Han. He is one of six accused of misusing $50 million of church funds to boost Ms Ho's music career, and covering up the misuse.

The 54-year-old Chew testified that "concerns" over the church's China missions was one of the "real reasons" Kong gave him for wanting to conceal the close relationship between CHC and Xtron. Kong did not want the Chinese to dismiss Ms Ho, his wife, as "nothing more than a gospel singer".

"I knew that Kong didn't want it to be known that the church had purchased bonds in Xtron. From that angle, yes, that was what actually happened," Chew conceded when challenged.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong rejected the suggestion that there was a need to be discreet about Ms Ho's gospel links to prevent the Chinese from discovering that the church's Crossover Project had a "hidden agenda" to evangelise.

This was because her background was public knowledge.

To make his point, DPP Ong referred to several documents, such as the transcript of an extraordinary general meeting of the church in 2002. It records how Kong told of his hope to "publicly" deliver Christian messages in mainland China.

At an annual general meeting the next year, Kong also highlighted a Taiwanese newspaper headline that Ms Ho "shares her faith" during a concert.

When pressed by DPP Ong that he and other accused had wanted the secrecy to prevent the bonds being exposed as shams, Chew disagreed.

"I never thought the bonds were shams, right from the beginning," he insisted.

Chew has insisted that Kong and deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng were the ones who called the shots for Xtron.

But the prosecution yesterday pointed out a 2008 e-mail to Tan and fellow accused Serina Wee, in which Chew wrote about the need to "find a balance" between what to tell church members, who wanted to hear that the church fully controlled Xtron, and auditors, who were not supposed to think that.

Chew, while admitting that he was involved in coming up with a "compromise statement" to an annual general meeting on the control issue, retorted that it was not he who wanted to keep things hush-hush.

He said: "No, your Honour, I don't believe in distancing myself. I'm involved in this. All I'm saying is that it's not my desire to achieve this object... in a discreet manner."

He claimed yesterday that he had merely followed Kong and Tan's preference for secrecy, believing then that their intentions were "pure".

DPP Ong later said: "Once again, you are trying to distance yourself from your involvement in trying to conceal the nature of the bonds, by saying it was actually Ye Peng's preference."

Chew, who is representing himself, disagreed.

 

[virus]

CHC trial: I am just an advisor, why is the anus on me, asks Chew

SINGAPORE — As the long-running trial of six City Harvest Church leaders resumed after a month’s break, co-accused and former investment manager Chew Eng Han reiterated that he acted as an “advisor” to the church’s key decision makers and should not be held responsible when the church’s bond investments went into trouble.

Chew and five other church leaders, including church founder Kong Hee, are accused of misusing more than S$50 million in church buildings funds to finance Ms Sun Ho’s foray into the United States. The church had sought to use Ms Ho’s pop music to evangelise through what it called the Crossover Project.

The prosecution believes S$24 million in church building funds were used to buy sham bonds in two companies, including Xtron Productions.

Another S$26.6 million was then allegedly circulated through complex transactions to cover up the first sum.

This morning, the prosecution alleged that Chew and his co-accused persons had intentionally not disclosed the recoverability of the bonds to the church’s board and executive members because they wanted to hide the fact that church funds were used to finance Ho’s music career.

Deputy public prosecutor Christopher Ong also suggested that Chew, as an investment manager who “recommended that the church enter into certain investments”, had the duty to inform the church’s board that the bond investments could not be redeemed upon maturity.

Chew, who is the fourth co-accused to be cross-examined, insisted that the idea for the church to lend surplus building funds to fund the Crossover was initiated by Kong and his deputy Tan Ye Peng, also a co-accused. Chew, as he put it, merely “hatched the... idea into a bond investment”.

“The prosecution is throwing to me that this is my call and therefore I am responsible for it. It’s totally not true,” said Chew, who added that there was “no way” for him to be confident that the bonds could be redeemed as he was not privy to the progress of Sun Ho’s music career in the United States.

“Your Honour, I think the prosecution is giving me much more credit than I deserve,” he said.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapor...y-onus-me-asks-chew?google_editors_picks=true

 

[ShangTsung]

City Harvest trial: Ex-fund manager again denies any wrongdoing

Hoe Pei Shan The Straits Times Wednesday, Mar 18, 2015

Chew Eng Han said he had no reason to hide anything as it was clear to him that the money would be going to Ms Ho’s music.

FORMER City Harvest Church fund manager Chew Eng Han yesterday again denied wrongdoing over alleged sham bonds used to cover up the misuse of church funds, reiterating that he had merely carried out the ideas of his leading pastors.

Chew was being cross-examined by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Christopher Ong, as the long-running trial of six church leaders - including Chew and founding pastor Kong Hee - entered its 99th day yesterday after a month-long break.

The six are accused of misusing $50 million in church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, and covering this up.

The prosecution also believes that five of them channelled money from the church's building fund - made up of donations by church members towards a new church building - into sham bond investments in Ms Ho's management company, Xtron, and glass manufacturer Firna.

Four of them, including Chew, then allegedly devised transactions to clear the sham bonds from the church's accounts to mislead auditors.

DPP Ong sought to show that building fund monies had been diverted to finance Ms Ho's career - an unauthorised purpose of the fund which, he said, Chew had been trying to "disguise" by shrouding the transactions in secrecy and neglecting to check for approval from the church's board.

But Chew disagreed, saying that he had no reason to hide anything as it was clear to him that the money would be going to Ms Ho's music.

As the instructions had come from his senior pastors, who are also church board members, he had not questioned their legitimacy nor the desire for discretion.

"Questions are being put to me, Your Honour, as if I have a duty when it comes to corporate governance, that a fund manager needs to ensure that the whole board knows everything," said Chew.

"But that's not how it works between a fund manager and a corporation or the board of a corporation. The fund manager will work with usually one key person, maybe the CEO, and he takes instructions from the CEO.

"It's up to the CEO now, how he conducts his corporate governance and works things out and gets the required approval," he said, referring to the chief executive officer.

To him, Chew added, if key board members such as Kong and co-accused deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng said yes, that was sufficient approval.

In response, DPP Ong said: "I put it to you that you are being disingenuous and merely seeking to evade responsibility for your culpability for these bond investment charges, when you try to portray yourself as just an innocent fund manager taking instructions from Kong Hee and Tan Ye Peng."

The trial continues today.

[email protected]

 

[Untouchables]

CHC trial: 'No attempt to hide Xtron's role in Crossover project'

Hoe Pei Shan The Straits Times Thursday, Mar 26, 2015

City Harvest Church’s deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng (left) said in court yesterday that the church’s executive members knew about Xtron’s involvement in the project to evangelise through the music of Ms Ho Yeow Sun, the wife

City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders did not attempt to hide the fact that a company run by some of its members was involved in a project to evangelise through the music of founding pastor Kong Hee's wife.

Deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 39, said this while on the stand yesterday - the 105th day of the long-running trial on the alleged misuse of $50 million in church funds.

He said the church's executive members knew about music production firm Xtron's involvement in the project, dubbed the Crossover, and why an external party was needed to run it. But he said all of this was not explicitly stated.

Tan, Kong and four others are accused of misusing $50 million in church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, and covering it up.

Five of them have also been charged with channelling money from the church's building fund into sham bond investments in Ms Ho's management company, Xtron, and glass manufacturer Firna.

Four, including Tan, then allegedly devised transactions to clear the sham bonds from the church's accounts to mislead auditors.

Tan's lawyer N. Sreenivasan set the stage for his client by saying that "there is this accusation that you all were hiding matters" from executive members.

He asked Tan if the executive members knew about Xtron's involvement in the Crossover project.

"Yes," replied Tan. "I think we may not have explicitly said it in a meeting with the executive members but, generally, they knew... The Crossover was a project that the whole church was involved in, and they prayed every week (for it).

"They were all aware of the sensitivity and that this was not going to be done by the church, it was going to be done by another company... Generally, everyone would know that Xtron is doing the Crossover," said Tan.

Mr Sreenivasan then asked his client to explain why the church's efforts to inform its members about Xtron's role had not been documented.

Tan said: "I feel that sometimes what is obvious is things that are not stated in black and white. If I had known in 2010 that I would be investigated, I would have noted everything down... These are things that, I think, it would be even more contrived if we were to note things down like that, as if we knew we would be investigated."

Midway through yesterday's proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Chionh objected to the way in which Mr Sreenivasan was examining his client, saying he has "leading the witness". Ms Chionh is likely to conduct the prosecution's cross-examination of Tan next week.

The trial continues today.

[email protected]

 

[Untouchables]

City Harvest trial: Xtron had 'little say' in Crossover project

DPP says power lay with church leaders, including Kong Hee and his deputy

Published on Mar 31, 2015 7:36 AM

Tan Ye Peng, deputy senior pastor of City Harvest Church. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Danson Cheong

The directors of a company that supposedly managed pop singer Ho Yeow Sun did not actually have control nor the power to make decisions about the budget for her US album.

That power lay with the leaders of City Harvest Church (CHC), including senior pastor Kong Hee, who is Ho's husband, and his deputy Tan Ye Peng, alleged Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Chionh yesterday as she continued her cross-examination of the deputy senior pastor.

Though Xtron was set up to seem independent, in reality, its directors approved budgets that Kong thought were needed by the so-called Crossover project and had little say of their own.

Tan disagreed, and said Xtron directors such as Mr Wahju Hanafi trusted Kong as a "visionary", and that they deferred to his opinions on budgeting decisions because he had experience dealing with music producers in the United States.

But they did not blindly follow Kong's instructions, Tan insisted.

"Wahju is a businessman. I believe that when he signs any contract, he will apply his mind; he would not have signed any contract blindly or without asking questions," he said.

But DPP Chionh charged that Tan was "desperate to avoid having to concede that Kong Hee was the one controlling and making decisions about the budgeting for Sun Ho's album project".

"... you are trying to maintain the story that the Xtron directors made these decisions independently, and that that, therefore, means the Xtron (bond sharing agreement) was an arm's length commercial transaction," said DPP Chionh as she grilled Tan, 42, during his fifth day on the stand.

He is one of six church leaders charged with misusing $50 million of church funds to boost Ho's music career, and covering up the misuse.

The prosecution believes that five of the accused channelled money from the church's building fund into sham bond investments in Xtron and glass manufacturer Firna.

Four of them, including Tan, then allegedly devised transactions to clear the sham bonds from CHC's accounts to mislead auditors.

Tan has repeatedly told the court that church leaders acted only on the advice of lawyers and auditors in structuring the funding of the Crossover project, a church vehicle to evangelise through Ms Ho's secular music.

Later in the day, DPP Chionh highlighted how Mr Wahju's $1.27 million donation to Xtron - seed money for the Crossover project - had actually come from a refund for a prior donation he had made to CHC's building fund.

When asked, Tan said this was neither told to church members nor the church's auditors.

Two of the accused, Kong and Chew Eng Han, had also withdrawn their funds from the building fund and made donations in a similar fashion.

DPP Chionh alleged that this was arranged so the church's building funds could be channelled to fund Crossover album expenses.

Tan again disagreed, arguing that once the donations had been refunded, they ceased to belong to the church.

But DPP Chionh objected to his reasoning.

She noted that while the "form of the transaction" would look like the individuals withdrawing monies and then voluntarily re-gifting it to Xtron, the substance of the transaction is "a loan of the building fund to the Crossover".

The trial continues in its 109th day today.

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[Untouchables]

City Harvest trial: Auditors not told where money was going

Tan concedes they weren't told money would pay for Ho Yeow Sun's US album

Published on Apr 1, 2015 7:31 AM

Tan Ye Peng told the court that church leaders had the frame of mind to "try to keep this Crossover Project as discreet as possible". -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Danson Cheong

The deputy senior pastor accused of wrongdoing with five other leaders of City Harvest Church (CHC) yesterday conceded that church auditors and stakeholders might not have known that investment vehicles were actually being used to fuel the music career of the pastor's wife.

Tan Ye Peng agreed with the prosecution that the auditors were told the money taken from the church's building fund was being used to invest in two companies, Xtron and Firma. They were not told explicitly that the funds would be used to pay for Ms Ho Yeow Sun's US album, he said.

The 42-year-old religious leader admitted this on his sixth day on the stand, following intense grilling by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Chionh.

DPP Chionh alleged that the church's statutory auditors, TFW Baker Tilly, were not aware that investments in Xtron, which was Ms Ho's management company, had the "dual purpose of maximising returns and supporting the Crossover Project".

 

[ShangTsung]

Former church finance manager Serina Wee takes the stand in City Harvest trial

Published on Apr 16, 2015 3:43 PM

Former City Harvest Church (CHC) finance manager Serina Wee said she became a Christian in 1995 when she was 18 years old, after attending a service at CHC. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Lim Yi Han

SINGAPORE - Former City Harvest Church (CHC) finance manager Serina Wee was called to the stand on Thursday in the ongoing trial of six people connected to the church.

Wee, represented by Senior Counsel Andre Maniam, is the last of the six accused to take the stand. She faces 10 charges of criminal breach of trust of monies from the church's building fund and falsifying of accounts.

During the morning session of the trial, Wee spoke about how she became a Christian and her impression of the Crossover Project, which aimed to spread the Gospel through the music of pop singer Ho Yeow Sun. Ms Ho is the wife of church founder Kong Hee.

Wee said she became a Christian in 1995 when she was 18 years old, after attending a service at CHC. She later became an assistant accountant in the church in 1999 and finance manager in 2005, before she resigned in 2007.

https://youtu.be/WLJTxCBYzcI

She said that the Crossover was an "important mission" of the church and told the Court that she attended a concert related to the project in Taiwan in 2003.

"(It was) an eye-opener for me because I could first-hand experience the impact of the Crossover...As Sun sang the songs, it touched the heart of many attendees. Many people were in tears," she said. "At the end of the concert, when she shared her testimony, a lot of people came forward to receive Christ. So it impacted me a lot, being there personally."

Wee also said that her husband, Kenny Low, was Ms Ho's first dance instructor and travelled with her in her Gospel outreach concerts as a dancer. Wee herself was involved as a backup singer in two of Ms Ho's Christian albums produced by the church.

The prosecution contends that the church's building fund was used to finance Ms Ho's music career through sham bond investments.

Five others connected to CHC, including Kong, face various charges of misusing the church fund and covering up the misuse.

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Serina Wee 'believed Ho Yeow Sun's album would fetch a profit'

Published on Apr 17, 2015 10:48 PM

Former finance manager Serina Wee is one of six accused of misusing church monies to bankroll Ms Ho's music career, and the last to take the stand. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Lim Yi Han

SINGAPORE - Former City Harvest Church (CHC) finance manager Serina Wee had the impression that pop singer Ho Yeow Sun's English album would be profitable, she said on her second day of questioning.

This was why she thought music production firm Xtron, which managed Ms Ho, would be able to repay bonds the church had invested in on time, the accountant told the court yesterday.

Wee, 38, is one of six accused of misusing church monies to bankroll Ms Ho's music career, and the last to take the stand.

Ms Ho is married to church founder Kong Hee, one of the six.

 

[StarshipTroopers]

It'll take up to '116 years' to cover cost of Ho's album

Ronald Loh The New Paper Monday, Apr 20, 2015

City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee wanted to know how long it would take to pay back the money invested in his wife's English album.

So accountant Serina Wee was asked to calculate the duration based on a projected sale of 100,000 copies.

The answer shown yesterday in a 2008 e-mail: Up to 116 years.

But former CHC finance manager Wee, 38, told the court that it was just a scenario planning exercise.

"It's a ridiculous scenario, totally unrealistic... unworkable," she said, adding that she had only crunched the numbers because Kong had asked for it.

Wee, Kong and four others are on trial for misusing millions of church money.

First, $24 million was allegedly misused from the church building fund to finance singer-pastor Ho Yeow Sun's music career, before $26.6 million was said to be used to cover up the initial amount.

This was allegedly done through sham bonds invested in two "shell companies", Xtron Productions and Firna.

By 2008, about $10 million had been drawn down from the Xtron bond.

'PRUDENT'

Wee yesterday maintained that she and her co-accused had always relied on prudent and conservative projections.

But she had full faith that Ms Ho's English album would be successful and profitable.

She pointed out in another 2008 e-mail that American accountants - whom she claimed were experts in the US entertainment industry and who were engaged by Ms Ho's producer, Mr Justin Herz - had projected that her album would rake in a profit of $26 million.

Ms Ho's album was never produced.

The trial continues on April 27.