Controlled access to monk
BY HIS own admission, he controlled access to the man he called shi fu.
Raymond Yeung (below) said anyone who wanted to meet Ming Yi had to go through him.
On the stand yesterday, the 34-year-old recounted his life history. He was born in Australia to parents who were Hong Kong citizens. The family moved back to Hong Kong when he was two months old, but he spent most of his formative years in Macau, where his father, now 59, was working.
At 17, he returned to Australia for high school, and then took a hotel operations course. Three years later, he went back to Hong Kong, where he became a hotel receptionist and then a flight steward.
Yeung said he got to know Ming Yi in 2000 at the Heung Hoi Cheng Kok Lin Association, a Buddhist organisation located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
Still flying with Cathay Pacific then, the self-professed staunch Buddhist would join the centre for activities and prayer sessions.
'During gatherings, we would talk about Buddhism and other topics...I told Venerable that I very much liked to do something for Buddhism,' he said.
When he visited Singapore, Ming Yi would take him to visit monasteries, hospitals and the care centres under him.
Subsequently, the monk asked Yeung if he would like to work for him. Yeung said he took some time to consider the offer, and also consulted his parents before saying yes.
He said he was aware that he did not have an employment pass. He said Ming Yi had told him the Ministry of Manpower said it would be all right for him to employ Yeung personally as Yeung would be travelling in and out of Singapore.
Yeung also spoke at length about his role as the monk's personal assistant. He travelled with Ming Yi, attended board meetings and also helped at various Ren Ci departments from time to time.
Yeung also chaired various committees for the Ren Ci Charity Show in 2003 and liaised with the Hong Kong artistes performing in it.
CAROLYN QUEK
BY HIS own admission, he controlled access to the man he called shi fu.
Raymond Yeung (below) said anyone who wanted to meet Ming Yi had to go through him.
On the stand yesterday, the 34-year-old recounted his life history. He was born in Australia to parents who were Hong Kong citizens. The family moved back to Hong Kong when he was two months old, but he spent most of his formative years in Macau, where his father, now 59, was working.
At 17, he returned to Australia for high school, and then took a hotel operations course. Three years later, he went back to Hong Kong, where he became a hotel receptionist and then a flight steward.
Yeung said he got to know Ming Yi in 2000 at the Heung Hoi Cheng Kok Lin Association, a Buddhist organisation located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
Still flying with Cathay Pacific then, the self-professed staunch Buddhist would join the centre for activities and prayer sessions.
'During gatherings, we would talk about Buddhism and other topics...I told Venerable that I very much liked to do something for Buddhism,' he said.
When he visited Singapore, Ming Yi would take him to visit monasteries, hospitals and the care centres under him.
Subsequently, the monk asked Yeung if he would like to work for him. Yeung said he took some time to consider the offer, and also consulted his parents before saying yes.
He said he was aware that he did not have an employment pass. He said Ming Yi had told him the Ministry of Manpower said it would be all right for him to employ Yeung personally as Yeung would be travelling in and out of Singapore.
Yeung also spoke at length about his role as the monk's personal assistant. He travelled with Ming Yi, attended board meetings and also helped at various Ren Ci departments from time to time.
Yeung also chaired various committees for the Ren Ci Charity Show in 2003 and liaised with the Hong Kong artistes performing in it.
CAROLYN QUEK
