City Harvest Church founder faces the music

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City Harvest Church trial: Kong Hee sentenced to 8 years' jail

According to The Straits Times, the six are most likely to be sentenced today.

Friday, Nov 20, 2015

SINGAPORE - The City Harvest Church (CHC) trial, which spanned almost three years, has finally concluded, with six of its leaders being sentenced at 3pm on Friday (Nov 20).

According to media reports, founder and senior pastor Kong Hee has been sentenced to eight years of jail. Deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng has been sentenced to five years six months' jail, while former church investment committee member John Lam has been sentenced to three years' jail.

The church's former finance manager Serina Wee was given a sentence of five years in prison, while her colleague Sharon Tan received the lightest sentence of 21 months in prison.

Former church investment committee member Chew Eng Han received six years' jail, but he has told the court that he will appeal.

Sentences will commence on Jan 11, 2016.

City Harvest trial verdict: All six accused found guilty of all charges

Channel NewsAsia reported that Judge See Kee Oon, in sentencing the leaders, said Kong Hee was the most culpable, followed by Tan Ye Peng, Chew Eng Han, Serina Wee, and John Lam.

According to earlier reports, prosecution was seeking a sentence of 11 to 12 years' jail for Kong Hee, eight to nine years' for John Lam, about 11 to 12 years for both Tan Ye Peng, Chew Eng Han and Serina Wee; and about five to six years for Sharon Tan.

All six were found guilty on Oct 21 of all charges ranging from criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts.

Channel NewsAsia reported that the defence appealed for lighter sentences, citing that they were acting in the interests of the church.

However, the prosecution side submitted that "each of the accused persons played their respective roles in a conspiracy with intent to cause wrongful loss to CHC and to defraud the auditors".

"They did not merely wait passively for Kong Hee to instruct them to carry out each specific act and deception needed to drive the conspiracy forward. They took their own initiative to deceive and mislead the trusting members of CHC where necessary, and cannot escape responsibility for those acts."

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[Cream]

Singapore church leaders jailed for pop venture fraud

City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun arriving at the courts on 21 October 2015. The long-running legal battle over the misuse of CHC funds resulted in all six accused being convicted of multimillion-dollar fraud.

Photo: The Straits Times

Friday, Nov 20, 2015

Singapore - Six Christian church leaders in Singapore were jailed Friday for misusing more than $35 million of church funds to turn the pastor's wife into a global pop star.

State prosecutors said the failed project, which the church defended as an attempt to attract converts but involved raunchy music videos, was the biggest charity scandal in Singapore history.

City Harvest Church (CHC) head pastor Kong Hee, 51, was sentenced to eight years in jail. The remaining five were handed prison terms varying from 21 months to six years.

"The criminal breach of trust offences which the accused persons committed involve the largest amount of charity funds ever misappropriated in Singapore's legal history," state prosecutors said before the sentencing.

The six were found guilty of fraud in October for diverting Sg$24 million ($17 million) from a building fund to help Kong's Mandarin pop singer wife, Sun Ho, break into the English-language market.

They were also found guilty of misappropriating another Sg$26 million from the church to cover their tracks with a complex web of sham financial transactions.

Singer Ho, 43, was never charged and is now a pastor of the church, which is calling itself a reformed "CHC 2.0" with stricter legal and auditing safeguards.

Tiny Singapore is one of the world's most affluent nations. Despite being a largely Buddhist and Taoist society, the city-state is home to well-funded Christian "mega churches" like CHC.

The pastor and his wife were once a high-profile couple who led the expansion of their congregation, which had more than 30,000 members at its peak several years ago. CHC's 2014 annual report said the congregation's size was 17,522 last year.

But they fell from grace after slickly produced music videos featuring a scantily-clad Ho came out on Youtube.

An internal whistleblower also helped expose financial irregularities in the church.

Ho appeared in a 2007 music video called "China Wine" with rapper Wyclef Jean.

In another video, for a reggae-tinged song titled "Mr Bill", Ho appeared as an Asian wife who sings about killing her African-American husband, played by supermodel Tyson Beckford.

 

[Cream]

City Harvest trial: Kong Hee considering appeal of sentence

City Harvest Church founder and senior pastor Kong Hee has been sentenced to eight years of jail.

Photo: The Straits Times

Friday, Nov 20, 2015

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee has said that he is currently studying his sentence with his lawyers and will make "a meaningful decision" whether to appeal.

In a Facebook post published at about 8.30pm today (Nov 20) Kong said: "Today, the protracted five and a half years of investigation and court trial have finally come to an end."

"With the close of the court trial, this season of pain and turmoil for City Harvest Church should soon come to an end."

He went on to say that he will have to "continue to face some very difficult days ahead" and that he was "saddened" by the sentence passed this afternoon.

Kong, 51, and five other church leaders were found guilty of misusing some $50 million in church funds last month. $24 million from that sum was used to fund the music career of Kong's wife, Ho Yeow Sun, 43, who was reportedly ordained pastor recently.

Kong was sentenced to eight years in jail, while the other accused were sentenced to between 21 months and six years each (remove each).

All six were found guilty on Oct 21 of all charges ranging from criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts. Sentences will commence on Jan 11, 2016.

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Former City Harvest fund manager Chew rebuts the church's allegations against him

Chew Eng Han, former City Harvest Church fund manager, rebuts the church's allegations against him. ST PHOTO: PHYLLICIA WANG

Published 3 hours ago
Ng Huiwen

SINGAPORE - Former City Harvest Church (CHC) fund manager Chew Eng Han has rebutted allegations made against him by the church during its weekend services.

On Monday (Nov 23), in a reply posted on a blog, Chew, who is being sued by the church for $21 million in unreturned investments, said he had been silent since the start of the suit and it was time to reveal the "half-truths and lies".

On Saturday evening's service, the church's investment committee chairman Rick Chan said: "Many attempts were made by us to recover these investments ... Eng Han even gave us a personal guarantee and agreed to an increased rate of interest for these investments.

"However, despite over four years of negotiations, we were unable to reach any satisfactory resolution."

But Chew countered that he had been "duped" by the church into signing a personal guarantee (PG) for the investments in the church's Special Opportunities Fund (SOF).

According to court documents, the church had provided 16 tranches of high interest loans of at least $3 million to Transcu Group from 2009 to 2010. Chew's firm, AMAC Capital Partners, was appointed the church's investment manager in 2007. While most of the money was paid back by AMAC, it could not do so for four tranches as Transcu had defaulted on the loans.

Chew on Monday gave his account of the negotiations behind the repayment plan to recover losses in these investments, to counter the impression that he had "refused to bear responsibility and refused to engage in reasonable discussions".

He said CHC board members were reluctant to sign the plan in 2014, as it had a section documenting the board's knowledge and approval of the investments.

Chew had tried to include this section after learning that board members had "feigned ignorance" about the SOF. He noted that the board had portrayed him "as some untamed fund manager who had put monies into the SOF without explaining to the board about the underlying nature and risks".

Calling this a "twisted distortion", he said the court had found board members to have full knowledge from the beginning of the SOF.

The civil suit was a shock to him, he said, as he heard nothing from the church about the repayment plan he submitted.

He said up till early 2014, he had made repeated requests for the church to arrange a meeting with the Commissioner of Charities to explain the troubled investments. But it did not do so.

Chew added:"I was duped by them to sign a PG on the basis that it would apparently provide a reason for them to hold off the Commissioner of Charities' pressure."

He said he signed the guarantee after CHC pastor Bobby Chaw assured him that the church did not intend to enforce it. "I signed it trusting that a pastor would not lie."

Chew was one of six CHC leaders given lengthy jail terms - six years in his case - last Friday (Nov 20) for the misuse of church funds.

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[Cream]

CHC was 'the ultimate church'

Service at City Harvest Church on Nov 21, 2015.

Published Nov 22, 2015, 5:00 am SGT
Danson Cheong

City Harvest Church (CHC) played a big part in Chew Eng Han's life. He claims it was where his wife was "delivered from demons".

The couple joined the church in 1995 after being taken to a prayer session by his nephew. Church services were then held at the old Hollywood theatre in Tanjong Katong. The congregation was only 1,300-strong, but growing fast. A year later, it had doubled. Now, it stands at more than 17,000.

Chew told The Sunday Times that his wife's father had been a medium and she, too, had dabbled in the occult. She would suffer "attacks" and have no control over her actions.

In an interview with The Sunday Times before he was found guilty, Chew Eng Han insisted that the bonds he devised were legitimate. Instead, the Crossover Project was the sham, he said.

During one CHC session to help her in 1996, she did a handstand suddenly. "We were shocked," he said. Chew said Ms Ho Yeow Sun, the wife of founding pastor Kong Hee, "prayed for two hours and cast the demons out".
At the City Harvest Church service yesterday, Pastor Kong Hee (above) acknowledged his worshippers' pain and thanked them for being there for him and the other five church leaders who were sentenced.

The couple's belief strengthened. Chew's daughters, who are 15 and 25, also grew up in the children's church of CHC.

Chew rose quickly through the ranks. He was appointed to the church board in 1998, eventually becoming vice-president and treasurer.

Chew attributes this partly to how he was donating $1,000 to the church each month. He said a pastor "asked me if I knew that the tithe is only 10 per cent. I said 'yes', and that I was earning $10,000".

Chew said he went on to become the Singapore CEO of State Street Bank, making $400,000 a year. He later quit to set up a fund management firm, Amac Capital Partners.

When his business flopped because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2007, Chew said church projects gave him purpose. At that time, Amac was CHC's fund manager.

"We thought CHC was the ultimate church," he said.

 

[Cream]

City Harvest trial: Ex-fund manager Chew Eng Han counters claims

Chew Eng Han, outside the court last week. In a reply posted on a blog, Chew, who is being sued by the church for $21 million in unreturned investments, rebutted allegations made over the weekend.ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published Nov 24, 2015, 5:00 am SGT

In a post on a blog, Chew Eng Han rebuts allegations made against him by church
Ng Huiwen

Former City Harvest Church (CHC) fund manager Chew Eng Han has rebutted allegations made against him by the church during its weekend services.

Yesterday, in a reply posted on a blog, Chew, who is being sued by the church for $21 million in unreturned investments, said he had been silent since the start of the suit and it was time to reveal the "half-truths and lies".

At Saturday evening's service, the church's investment committee chairman, Mr Rick Chan, said: "Many attempts were made by us to recover these investments... Eng Han even gave us a personal guarantee and agreed to an increased rate of interest for these investments.

"However, despite over four years of negotiations, we were unable to reach any satisfactory resolution."

But Chew countered that he had been "duped" by the church into signing a personal guarantee (PG) for the investments in the church's Special Opportunities Fund (SOF).
At the City Harvest Church service yesterday, Pastor Kong Hee (above) acknowledged his worshippers' pain and thanked them for being there for him and the other five church leaders who were sentenced.

According to court documents, the church had provided 16 tranches of high-interest loans of at least $3 million to Transcu Group from 2009 to 2010. Chew's firm, AMAC Capital Partners, was appointed the church's investment manager in 2007. While most of the money was paid back by AMAC, it could not do so for four tranches as Transcu had defaulted on the loans.

Chew yesterday gave his account of the negotiations behind the repayment plan to recover losses in these investments, to counter the impression that he had "refused to bear responsibility and refused to engage in reasonable discussions".

He said CHC board members were reluctant to sign the plan last year, as it had a section documenting the board's knowledge and approval of the investments.

Chew had tried to include this section after learning that board members had "feigned ignorance" about the SOF. He noted that the board had portrayed him "as some untamed fund manager who had put monies into the SOF without explaining to the board about the underlying nature and risks".

Calling this a "twisted distortion", he said the court had found board members to have full knowledge from the beginning of the SOF.

The civil suit was a shock to him, he said, as he heard nothing from the church about the repayment plan he submitted. He said up till early last year, he had made repeated requests for the church to arrange a meeting with the Commissioner of Charities to explain the troubled investments. But it did not do so.

Chew added: "I was duped by them to sign a PG on the basis that it would apparently provide a reason for them to hold off the Commissioner of Charities' pressure."

He said he signed the guarantee after CHC pastor Bobby Chaw assured him that the church did not intend to enforce it. Chew was one of six CHC leaders given jail terms last Friday for the misuse of church funds.

 

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Longer jail terms sought for leaders of City Harvest

City Harvest Church founding pastor Kong Hee said he will appeal against both the guilty verdict and the length of his sentence. He was given eight years in jail. The prosecution had pressed for a term of 11 to 12 years.ST FILE PHOTO

Published Nov 28, 2015, 5:00 am SGT

Prosecution says sentences are 'manifestly inadequate'; three of six to file own appeals

Danson Cheong

After a 142-day trial that ended with six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders jailed for fraud involving millions of dollars, lawyers on both sides are gearing up for another court battle.

Yesterday, the prosecution filed notices of appeal against the prison terms of all six, describing them as "manifestly inadequate".

In turn, three of those found guilty, including founding pastor Kong Hee, confirmed they too would submit their own appeals.

"Whilst I respect the court's decision, there are points which appear to be erroneous and warrant appeal," said Kong, who will appeal against both the guilty verdict and the length of his sentence, in a Facebook post yesterday evening.

He said the road ahead was "long and arduous" but asked church members to pray for a "favourable outcome".

When asked about the prosecution's decision to push for even longer jail terms, Chew told The Straits Times yesterday: "As I've said openly in court before, the prosecution has been very vicious."

The prosecution had urged the court to impose a sentence of 11 to 12 years in Chew's case.

Others found guilty are still in the midst of examining their options.

Mr Kenny Low, husband of former CHC finance manager Serina Wee, told The Straits Times it was still "too soon to comment". The 38-year-old Wee received a sentence of five years in jail.

Lawyer Paul Seah, who is defending former CHC finance manager Sharon Tan, 40, said: "We are discussing the developments with her and she will decide whether or not to appeal by next week."

She received 21 months in jail.

Former CHC finance committee member John Lam, who received a three-year sentence, did not respond to repeated calls and e-mail.

The prosecution had asked for much stiffer terms for each of them, citing several aggravating factors, and the need to deter similar crimes involving charity funds from happening in future.

But while Judge See agreed on the need for deterrence, he was mindful that it did not "simply entail the imposition of disproportionately crushing sentences".

The defence has up to next Friday to file a notice of appeal.

Other lawyers say the prosecution's move yesterday to push for longer sentences would likely force the defence to submit appeals of its own.

Veteran criminal lawyer Amolat Singh said: "They have no choice but to also put in their appeals, otherwise they might miss out on the chance of arguing whether there should be a lighter sentence."

But this legal battle should not be as long drawn out as the initial trial.

"We are probably looking at an appeal date within six months. The actual appeal will take one or two days," said criminal lawyer Sunil Sudheesan.

 

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Church leaders file notices of appeal

(Top row, from left to right) Serina Wee, Chew Eng Han, and Sharon Tan. (Bottom row, from left to right) Kong Hee, Tan Ye Peng and John Lam.PHOTO: REUTERS

Published 4 hours ago

City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee and five other church leaders sentenced to jail in Singapore's biggest charity financial scandal filed notices of appeal yesterday.

All six have indicated they will fight both the guilty verdicts and the length of their sentences.

A 142-day trial ended last month with the six convicted of criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts. Kong Hee, described by Judge See Kee Oon as the mastermind behind the conspiracy to misuse $50 million of church money to turn his wife into a global pop star and cover up the misdeed, was sentenced to eight years in prison - the longest of the six.

The rest were handed jail terms ranging from six years to 21 months.

Last week, the prosecution called the sentences "manifestly inadequate" and revealed its decision to appeal. In Kong Hee's case, for instance, the prosecution had asked for a jail term of 11 to 12 years.

Yesterday afternoon, all six turned up at the State Courts, with Kong Hee the first to arrive. Several of them explained that the prosecution's move to ask for heavier punishments played a part in the decision to appeal.

 

[Callisto]

Prosecution files appeal for City Harvest trial

City Harvest Church leaders: Founder Kong Hee (top centre), former finance manager Serina Wee (top left), Sharon Tan (top right), Tan Ye Peng (bottom left), John Lam (bottom centre), and Chew Eng Han (bottom right).PHOTO:

AFP
Published Jan 18, 2016, 10:44 am SGT
Danson Cheong

SINGAPORE - The Public Prosecutor has filed its appeal in the City Harvest case, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said in a statement on Monday (Jan 18).

The prosecution has called the sentences imposed on the six accused - which includes City Harvest Church founding pastor Kong Hee - "manifestly inadequate", and wants harsher punishment to deter such crimes.

All parties in December filed notices of appeal, which is an indication to the court that they intend to appeal.

"The prosecution will be proceeding with the appeal against the sentences imposed on the six accused persons, and we have accordingly filed our Petition of Appeal on 15 Jan 2016," said an AGC spokesman on Monday.

The other six accused previously indicated to The Straits Times that they would be filing the appeal before the deadline at the end of Monday.

On Oct 20, the six - including church founder and senior pastor Kong Hee, 51 - were found guilty of using the funds to further the music career of Kong's wife, pastor-singer Ho Yeow Sun.

They had done this by funnelling $24 million into sham bonds to bankroll Ms Ho's career. They then covered their tracks with a further $26 million.

All six drew jail terms of between 21 months and eight years. Kong got the heaviest sentence as the mastermind of Singapore's largest charity financial scandal.

 

[Callisto]

CHC appeal will be heard in High Court in September

Six City Harvest Church leaders were sentenced in court on Nov 20, 2015. They are (from top left to bottom right) CHC founder Kong Hee, 51, the church’s former second-in-command Tan Ye Peng, 42; Mr Chew Eng Han, 55; former church finance managers Sharon Tan, 40, and Serina Wee, 38, and former church board member John Lam, 47. Photo: Ernest Chua

By Amanda Lee
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Published: 12:01 PM, March 4, 2016
Updated: 2:40 PM, March 4, 2016

SINGAPORE — A five-day hearing in September this year has been scheduled in the High Court for the six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders who filed an appeal against their conviction and sentences.

Former church investment manager Chew Eng Han revealed this to reporters on Friday (March 4) after a pre-trial conference in the High Court.

Mr Chew Eng Han, former City Harvest Church investment manager, leaving the Supreme Court on March 4, 2016. Photo: Robin Choo

Mr Chew said the counsels for the five church leaders and himself will be filing their submissions on Aug 18, instead of the original Sept 1.

This is to give the prosecution more time to study their submissions for the appeal, he added.

The court hearing is scheduled on Sept 19 to Sept 23.

Mr Chew said the hearing in September will be presided by Justice of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and High Court judges Chan Seng Onn and Woo Bih Li.

In December last year, the church leaders filed notices of appeal against their conviction and sentences at a closed-door hearing in the State Courts.

The six former church leaders were CHC founder Kong Hee, 51, the church’s former second-in-command Tan Ye Peng, 42; Mr Chew, 55, former church board member John Lam, 47; former church finance managers Sharon Tan,40 and Serina Wee, 38.

They were found guilty in October last year of criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts. They were sentenced to jail ranging from 21 months to eight years in November last year.

All of them are out on bail.

In November last year, the prosecution appealed against the sentences imposed on the church leaders after they found that the sentences were “manifestly inadequate, in all circumstances of the case”.

Previously, the prosecution has pressed for a jail sentence for the six leaders to be between five to 12 years each to reflect the gravity of their offences.

However, the district judge said there was no personal gain and no financial loss to the church although the case involved large amount of charity monies and serious breaches of trust.

 

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City Harvest trial: Church leaders showed no remorse, says DPP as he calls for harsher sentences

Published 30 min ago

Danson Cheong

SINGAPORE - Was the City Harvest Church (CHC) project to evangelise through the pop music of Ms Ho Yeow Sun a church purpose, or one that CHC leaders had foisted upon the congregation?

Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong asked the High Court this on Wednesday (Sept 21) in the ongoing appeal of the six CHC leaders at the centre of a multi-million dollar financial scandal.

In October last year, the six CHC leaders were convicted of misappropriating millions in church funds to fuel the pop music career of Ms Ho, the wife of CHC senior pastor Kong Hee, in a church mission known as the Crossover Project.

The court found that they had invested $24 million from CHC's building fund in bogus bonds from music production company Xtron and glass-maker Firna, but this money was, in fact, used to fund the Crossover Project.

Later, another $26 million was used to cover up the initial misdeed.

The six, including Kong, are appealing against their convictions and sentences, while the prosecution is also appealing - for longer sentences.

The lower court had found that the Crossover Project was "indisputably a church purpose", but DPP Ong pointed out that it was the six CHC leaders who determined what was in the church's interests and has silenced dissenting points of view.

"What this calls into question is whether they can really say they were pursuing CHC's objectives or they were really pursuing a mandate that they had created and then foisted upon CHC," said DPP Ong.

Rebutting the point made by the six that the Crossover Project was supported by the majority of church members, DPP Ong said the support for the Crossover Project must be viewed in the context of what members were told about the project.

"They were not told who would be footing the bill," said DPP Ong.

He pointed out that the offenders had not shown remorse - which ordinarily could be a mitigating factor.

"Restitution amounts to saying 'I am sorry', and this is not something we have heard from the offenders in this case," he said.

"What we submit is, this is not a case of altruistic individuals who nobly set out to fulfill the goals of CHC."

The prosecution asked for much harsher sentences - jail terms of 11 to 12 years jail for Kong, CHC deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, former CHC fund manager Chew Eng Han and former CHC finance manager Serina Wee; eight to nine years for former CHC finance committee member John Lam; and five to six years for former CHC finance manager Sharon Tan.

The lower court handed out much lower terms in part because it found that the six had not been motivated by personal gain, and the church had not suffered any wrongful loss.

The six were given jail terms of between 21 months and eight years, with Kong facing the longest term.

The appeal is being heard by Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, and Justices Woo Bih Li and Chan Seng Onn.

Arguments for the appeal will continue in the afternoon.

 

[Callisto]

City Harvest leaders deceived members, auditors, lawyers: DPP

Published 8 hours ago

They subverted church's internal governance bodies, used positions of trust to misspend funds, court hears
Danson Cheong

The six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders deceived church members, auditors and lawyers, and subverted the church's internal governance bodies, the High Court heard yesterday.

They used their positions of trust to misspend millions of dollars in charity funds - the largest amount in such a case in Singapore's legal history - on a pop singer's music career, according to Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong.

He was responding to the arguments against conviction put forth by the six CHC leaders at the centre of the financial scandal.

In October last year, the six were convicted of misappropriating millions in church funds to fuel the pop music career of CHC senior pastor Kong Hee's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, in a church mission known as the Crossover Project.

The court found that they had invested $24 million from CHC's building fund in bogus bonds from music production firm Xtron and glass-maker Firna, and the money was used to fund the Crossover Project. Later, another $26 million was used to cover up the initial misdeed.

The six, including Kong, are appealing against their convictions and sentences - ranging from 21 months' to eight years' jail - while the prosecution is appealing for longer sentences.

DPP Ong said the CHC leaders knew the bonds were "excuses to expend building fund money on (Ms Ho's) music career" and not investments.

Addressing the arguments by the CHC leaders that there was a need for secrecy in carrying out the Crossover Project in order to avoid uncomfortable public scrutiny, DPP Ong said it was strange since the only thing needing to be "secret" was the fact that Ms Ho was funded by the church's building fund - which was "buried so deep that even the auditors don't know about it".

He said it was public knowledge that Ms Ho was "famous pastor Kong Hee's wife", and Kong would come out to preach at the end of her concerts.

"Where is the secrecy in this?" asked DPP Ong, adding that Kong and his conspirators also controlled the bond proceeds, choosing to spend them on the Crossover Project and deciding how and when they would be repaid to the church.

Justice Chan Seng Onn asked: "If I put out the money and eventually pay back to it myself, just sweeping around, playing around it myself, having full control of it, how can you call it an investment?"

DPP Ong replied: "Yes, your Honour, that is exactly our point."

Another issue discussed in court yesterday was whether the offences committed by the six CHC leaders fell under the ambit of Section 409 of the Penal Code that they were charged under.

This is the most aggravated form of criminal breach of trust, and sets out the offence as one committed by a person "in the way of his business as a banker, a merchant, a factor, a broker, an attorney or an agent banker, merchant or agent".

In this context, Justice Chan asked if "the church, as a society, is in the business of courting donations", with agents of the church then being seen as agents carrying out such business. DPP Ong disagreed. But he said Section 409 concerns individuals who "customarily and regularly are entrusted with funds which they are then supposed to take responsibility for".

Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin said that if the elements of Section 409 are not satisfied, the charges could be reduced. Arguments for the appeal will continue today.

 

[Callisto]

City Harvest trial: Church leaders weave web of lies to deceive church members, auditors, lawyers, says DPP

The six City Harvest Church leaders (clockwise from top left) Kong Hee, Tan Ye Peng, John Lam, Chew Eng Han, Sharon Tan and Serina Wee arriving at the Supreme Court on Tuesday. ST PHOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published Sep 20, 2016, 12:53 pm SGT
Danson Cheong

SINGAPORE - The six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders deceived church members, auditors and lawyers, and weaved a web of deceit to subvert the church's internal governance bodies.

That was what Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong told the court on Tuesday (Sept 20) morning. He was responding to the arguments against conviction put forth by the six CHC leaders at the centre of a multi-million dollar financial scandal.

In October last year, the six CHC leaders were convicted of misappropriating millions in church funds to fuel the pop music career of CHC senior pastor Kong Hee's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, in a church mission known as the Crossover Project.

The court found that they had invested $24 million from CHC's building fund in bogus bonds from music production company Xtron and glass-maker Firna, but this money was, in fact, used to fund the Crossover Project.

Later, another $26 million was used to cover up the initial misdeed.

The six, including Kong, are appealing against their convictions and sentences, while the prosecution is also appealing - for longer sentences.

DPP Ong said the CHC leaders knew the bond instruments were not investments but were in fact "excuses to expend building fund money on Sun Ho's music career".

Addressing the arguments by the CHC leaders that there was a need for secrecy in carrying out the Crossover Project in order to avoid uncomfortable public scrutiny, DPP Ong said it was "strange" that the only thing that needed to be "secret" was the fact that Ms Ho was funded by the church's building fund - which was "buried so deep that even the auditors don't know about it".

He told the court that it was public knowledge that Ms Ho was the "famous pastor Kong Hee's wife" and that Kong would come out to preach at the end of her concerts.

"Where is the secrecy in this?" asked DPP Ong.

The prosecution had initially asked for much harsher sentences - jail terms of 11 to 12 years jail for Kong, CHC deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, former CHC fund manager Chew Eng Han and former CHC finance manager Serina Wee; eight to nine years for former CHC finance committee member John Lam; and five to six years for former CHC finance manager Sharon Tan.

Instead, the court handed out much lower terms in part because it found that the six had not been motivated by personal gain, and the church had not suffered any wrongful loss.

The six were given jail terms of between 21 months and eight years, with Kong facing the longest term.

The appeal is being heard by Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, and Justices Woo Bih Li and Chan Seng Onn.

Arguments for the appeal will continue on Wednesday.

 

[Callisto]

City Harvest trial: Ho's music career a genuine investment: Defendants' lawyers

Former City Harvest Church finance manager Serina Wee.ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published Sep 20, 2016, 5:00 am SGT
Danson Cheong

Putting church money into the music career of Ms Ho Yeow Sun was a genuine investment and City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders had every right to do so.

That was the argument put forth by the lawyers of both former CHC finance manager Serina Wee, 39, and CHC deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 43, at their appeal hearing in the High Court yesterday.

In October last year, Wee and Tan were among six CHC leaders convicted of misappropriating millions in church funds to fuel the pop music career of Ms Ho - the wife of CHC founder Kong Hee - in a church mission known as the Crossover Project.

The court found that the six CHC leaders - including Kong - had invested $24 million from CHC's building fund in bogus bonds used to fund the Crossover Project.

Later, another $26 million was used to cover up the initial misdeed.

Wee and Tan were the last two CHC leaders to present their cases. All six are appealing against their convictions and sentences. The prosecution, for its part, is asking for longer sentences.

Said Wee's lawyer, Senior Counsel Andre Maniam: "My client did not think she was doing anything wrong - if there was an element of financial return, it was an investment."

The lower court had ruled that the bonds were not a genuine investment - in part because it found that the proceeds from these financial instruments were, in fact, controlled by the CHC leaders.

Mr Maniam told the court that there was nothing wrong with the investments having a dual purpose of both funding Ms Ho's music career and having an expectation of a financial return.

"(Wee's) point is (they) are not expensing the building fund for missions but also investing it," said Mr Maniam.

He had earlier referenced album sales projections for Ms Ho's United States album that showed profits would be made.

However, the album was never launched in the end - Kong told the court previously this was because of ongoing investigations in 2010.

Dressed in a black blouse and skirt, Wee, like the other accused, sat emotionless in the dock.

She faces a five-year jail term.

Wee, like the other five CHC leaders, took issue with the lower court's finding that using the building fund to finance the Crossover was a "wrong use" of the money.

Tan's lawyer, Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, told the court the Crossover was a mission of the church.

"(Tan's) mind was very, very clear, the Crossover was legitimate and supported by church members," said Mr Sreenivasan.

Tan, Kong's right-hand man, faces a 5½-year jail term.

Mr Sreenivasan said his client had provided "important and relevant information" to both the auditors and lawyers, and they knew that the bond proceeds would ultimately fund the Crossover Project.

Yet, no red flags were raised, he said.

Referring to Tan and the other CHC leaders spending CHC's money on the bonds, Mr Sreenivasan said: "They did not have knowledge that they were not legally entitled to do so."

Having said that, Mr Sreenivasan said Tan had made his peace with whatever finding the court would make.

"At the end of the day, if the court feels that it is legally wrong, then that is their will and (he) will let it be," he said.

The prosecution is expected to respond and present its case today. The appeal will also continue tomorrow.