<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>At the very least, Ren Ci is benefitting the poor and destitute!
April 16, 2009
TRIAL OF REN CI FOUNDER
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Ming Yi 'lied about loan'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He admitted last year to police that he 'covered up' for former aide </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Carolyn Quek
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->REN Ci Hospital founder Ming Yi admitted to the police last year that he had lied to them about a $50,000 sum of money which he knew was an unauthorised loan from the charity's coffers to his former personal assistant.
The aide, Raymond Yeung, 34, had told him he needed the money urgently to buy a house in Hong Kong while his housing loan application was being approved.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Credit cards used for branded goods
MING Yi had given supplementary credit cards to at least three people, including Raymond Yeung, a privilege which his former personal assistant used freely.
Yeung, who was once an air steward, splurged thousands of dollars on branded goods between 2001 and 2007.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Ming Yi's statements, made on March 27 and March 31 last year to Assistant Superintendent Richard Wong, were submitted to court yesterday, on the fifth day of his joint criminal trial with Yeung.
In them, the Buddhist monk confessed to the investigating officer from the Commercial Affairs Department that the money was not for buying Buddhist statues, as he had originally claimed.
'I agreed that I have lied and was trying to cover up for him,' Ming Yi, 47, told Superintendent Wong, who took the witness stand yesterday.
On Monday, the court had heard Yeung's confession to the police that the loan, obtained on May 17, 2004, had gone towards renovating an apartment in Hong Kong.
Ming Yi looked calm as parts of two statements he had given to Superintendent Wong were read out in court.
In one, he claimed to be 'too eager' to help without giving much thought to whether it was 'right or wrong'.
It was the first time Yeung had asked the monk for a loan since he became his personal assistant in 2001.
He said his 'simple thinking' was to go with Yeung's suggestion to make the loan out to the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, a shop that sells Buddhist artefacts.
Yeung would then 'borrow' that sum of money from Mandala. Yeung, however, 'forgot' to record this in the shop's financial records.
'I was trying my best to help him at that point of time. Hence, I omitted the necessary procedures of seeking approval from the management committee,' said Ming Yi.
Ming Yi and Yeung are accused of conspiring to falsify a Ren Ci payment voucher as a loan to Mandala.
They also face one charge each of giving false information to the Commissioner of Charities.
Ming Yi faces two other charges of misappropriating Ren Ci's funds by approving the loan and lying to the Commissioner of Charities in an oral statement.
The monk admitted in the police statement that he knew the Ren Ci board would not have approved the loan, as it was not for an investment for the hospital.
Yet, he went ahead to sign the payment voucher and cash a cheque for the money because of 'urgency in matters'.
Ming Yi agreed that Yeung could not take a personal loan from Ren Ci because he was not an employee.
However, he could not give a good reason as to why Yeung would suggest they make the loan out to Mandala.
Ming Yi also said that if he had given more thought to the matter, he might have taken a personal loan from Ren Ci himself and lent it to Yeung.
There was a discrepancy, however, in the two men's claims about what the money was used for.
While Yeung told the police it had gone to renovate a friend's apartment, Ming Yi claimed his aide had told him it was to buy a house.
Ming Yi also said he reminded his former assistant 'many times' to repay the loan.
The monk said it was possible that the loan - which was repaid in 2007 - would still be outstanding if the charity had not been the subject of an Ernst & Young probe in late 2006.
Ming Yi claimed that he would have repaid the loan on Yeung's behalf if necessary.
'I do not want Ren Ci to lose a single cent.'
Several times in the interview, the monk referred to his 'biggest mistake' - not checking if the loan was properly recorded in the Mandala books and not being able to turn Yeung down.
'I am one person who does not really know how to say no, especially when I know that the person needs the money urgently.'
[email protected] <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><SCRIPT language=javascript> addRatingPortion() </SCRIPT>
April 16, 2009
TRIAL OF REN CI FOUNDER
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Ming Yi 'lied about loan'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He admitted last year to police that he 'covered up' for former aide </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Carolyn Quek
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->REN Ci Hospital founder Ming Yi admitted to the police last year that he had lied to them about a $50,000 sum of money which he knew was an unauthorised loan from the charity's coffers to his former personal assistant.
The aide, Raymond Yeung, 34, had told him he needed the money urgently to buy a house in Hong Kong while his housing loan application was being approved.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Credit cards used for branded goods
MING Yi had given supplementary credit cards to at least three people, including Raymond Yeung, a privilege which his former personal assistant used freely.
Yeung, who was once an air steward, splurged thousands of dollars on branded goods between 2001 and 2007.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Ming Yi's statements, made on March 27 and March 31 last year to Assistant Superintendent Richard Wong, were submitted to court yesterday, on the fifth day of his joint criminal trial with Yeung.
In them, the Buddhist monk confessed to the investigating officer from the Commercial Affairs Department that the money was not for buying Buddhist statues, as he had originally claimed.
'I agreed that I have lied and was trying to cover up for him,' Ming Yi, 47, told Superintendent Wong, who took the witness stand yesterday.
On Monday, the court had heard Yeung's confession to the police that the loan, obtained on May 17, 2004, had gone towards renovating an apartment in Hong Kong.
Ming Yi looked calm as parts of two statements he had given to Superintendent Wong were read out in court.
In one, he claimed to be 'too eager' to help without giving much thought to whether it was 'right or wrong'.
It was the first time Yeung had asked the monk for a loan since he became his personal assistant in 2001.
He said his 'simple thinking' was to go with Yeung's suggestion to make the loan out to the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, a shop that sells Buddhist artefacts.
Yeung would then 'borrow' that sum of money from Mandala. Yeung, however, 'forgot' to record this in the shop's financial records.
'I was trying my best to help him at that point of time. Hence, I omitted the necessary procedures of seeking approval from the management committee,' said Ming Yi.
Ming Yi and Yeung are accused of conspiring to falsify a Ren Ci payment voucher as a loan to Mandala.
They also face one charge each of giving false information to the Commissioner of Charities.
Ming Yi faces two other charges of misappropriating Ren Ci's funds by approving the loan and lying to the Commissioner of Charities in an oral statement.
The monk admitted in the police statement that he knew the Ren Ci board would not have approved the loan, as it was not for an investment for the hospital.
Yet, he went ahead to sign the payment voucher and cash a cheque for the money because of 'urgency in matters'.
Ming Yi agreed that Yeung could not take a personal loan from Ren Ci because he was not an employee.
However, he could not give a good reason as to why Yeung would suggest they make the loan out to Mandala.
Ming Yi also said that if he had given more thought to the matter, he might have taken a personal loan from Ren Ci himself and lent it to Yeung.
There was a discrepancy, however, in the two men's claims about what the money was used for.
While Yeung told the police it had gone to renovate a friend's apartment, Ming Yi claimed his aide had told him it was to buy a house.
Ming Yi also said he reminded his former assistant 'many times' to repay the loan.
The monk said it was possible that the loan - which was repaid in 2007 - would still be outstanding if the charity had not been the subject of an Ernst & Young probe in late 2006.
Ming Yi claimed that he would have repaid the loan on Yeung's behalf if necessary.
'I do not want Ren Ci to lose a single cent.'
Several times in the interview, the monk referred to his 'biggest mistake' - not checking if the loan was properly recorded in the Mandala books and not being able to turn Yeung down.
'I am one person who does not really know how to say no, especially when I know that the person needs the money urgently.'
[email protected] <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><SCRIPT language=javascript> addRatingPortion() </SCRIPT>