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City Harvest Church founder faces the music

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Suspended, now charged


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CHARGED: (From left) Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng, Sharon Tan Shao Yuen and Lam Leng Hung

By Shaffiq Alkhatib
The New Paper
Sunday, Jul 01, 2012

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) is a charity. Other than its founder, Kong Hee, 47, four others were charged in court on Wednesday.

The Commissioner of Charities has suspended all four and Kong from their executive memberships in the charity.

The four are:

Chew Eng Han, 52

Co-shareholder/director of Amac Capital Partners, an investment company and investment manager of CHC.

He faces 10 charges - six counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust by an agent and four counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts.

He served as a director at Amac Capital Partners in 2007. The company is named in four of his charges.

For instance, in October 2009, $11.4 million from the CHC Building Fund was allegedly misappropriated by being disbursed into Amac Capital Partners' Special Opportunities Funds.

On its website, Amac described Chew as having 25 years of experience in financial markets trading and advising on markets.

He has worked for major financial institutions, including JP Morgan, Schroders, OCBC, and State Street Bank.

Tan Ye Peng, 39

Vice-president of the CHC management board. He is a senior pastor at the church and Kong's second-in-command.

He was also an ex-director of a private school, City College, formerly known as City Harvest Education Centre. It was set up in 2002.

He faces 10 charges - six counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust by an agent and four counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts.

Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, 36

Finance manager of CHC.

She faces seven charges - three counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust by an agent and four counts of being involved in a conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts.

Lam Leng Hung, 44

Member of CHC management board.

He faces three charges of being involved in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust by an agent.
 

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Investigations on church funds began years ago


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By Judith Tan
The New Paper
Sunday, Jul 01, 2012

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) executive member Christopher Pang has questioned the Commissioner of Charities' (COC) motive for posting its findings before the five accused are convicted, calling it a pre-judgment that is defamatory.

He was also unhappy that the COC had suspended the five and three other church leaders from their roles in CHC.

But under the law, the COC has the right and authority to do so, as explained below.

Who is the Commissioner of Charities and what are his powers?

Before 2005, the Comptroller of Income Tax doubled as the COC.

He was charged with promoting the effective use of charitable resources by encouraging the development of better methods of administration, and investigating and checking abuses.

In September 2006, the Government appointed Mr Low Puk Yeong, then first deputy secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, as the first full-time COC to oversee Singapore's charity groups.

Under the Charities Act, he has to promote compliance by those in charge of the charities, promote effective use of charitable resources and enhance the accountability.

He has the authority to identify and investigate apparent misconduct or mismanagement and disseminate information as he sees fit.

The 15-member Charity Council advises the COC on areas such as the administration of the Charities Act.

The council also makes sure that regulations on charities are not too harsh.

Why did City Harvest Church come under the COC's microscope?

The COC kickstarted the investigation after receiving complaints on the misuse of church funds some years ago.

In 2010, the police rounded up 17 people, including pastor Kong Hee, for the alleged misuse of church funds.

The scope of the investigation then went beyond the church to include other companies related to the church.

When did CHC first come under COC's scrutiny?

CHC was one of five Christian groups picked for the COC's first "governance review" in 2007 as it had the largest income among the charities under the Commissioner's purview.

Three auditors from Deloitte & Touche were stationed at the church to see how budgets were approved and how payments were made.

The COC found that the church had largely complied with regulations, but asked for more attention to be paid to loan policy and monitoring, donations to external parties and board members' objectivity.

Why is there a need for external auditors to examine the books of charities?

The measure was introduced with the overhaul of the charity sector after the 2005 National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal.

The lack of these checks had allowed the NKF to pay its former chief, Mr T.T. Durai, more than $600,000 a year, a sum which outraged Singaporeans.

Since 2008, more than 2,000 charitable organisations here have been automatically exempted from paying income taxes.

This means the nation indirectly becomes a stakeholder and there is a need for public accountability.

The charities not only owe their members an explanation, they also owe it to the public to come clean.

This article was first published in The New Paper.
 

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14,000 people turn up for City Harvest services


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By Adrian Lim
my paper
Monday, Jul 02, 2012

CITY Harvest Church members rallied over the weekend, with 14,000 people attending English and Chinese worship services.

Some 13,500 packed the English services at Singapore Expo's Max Atria yesterday morning and Saturday evening. Church founding pastor Kong Hee, 47, preached at both services.

His deputy, Tan Ye Peng, 39, preached at a Chinese service in Jurong West yesterday.

Both men and three other church leaders were charged in court last Wednesday with allegedly misappropriating funds worth $50.6 million.

Of this, $24 million was allegedly misused from the church's building fund, largely to fund the music career of singer Ho Yeow Sun, Kong's wife. The church is a registered charity.

A City Harvest spokesman said the Commissioner of Charities was aware that Kong and Tan were preaching yesterday.

About 45 minutes before yesterday's 10am service, Kong tweeted: "Give me strength for today, Lord."

At the sermon's start, he said last Saturday's service was "great" and added: "God, how am I going to replicate what happened (on Saturday)?"

Still, yesterday's service was lively, with Kong receiving at least two standing ovations.

Kong, who appeared mostly calm and pensive, reiterated his Saturday messages. For instance, he said: "I do maintain my integrity."

He also said: "You have no idea how broken I feel, standing before all of you. I just want to be here to thank you for your love and support for me, for Sun, for the leadership."

He ended his sermon by inviting on stage his wife, who led the congregation in worship songs.

For the finale, he chose an old favourite, Father Make Us One.

After the service, Kong tweeted "the answer to prayer is in the knocking", quoting text from the Bible.

A church-goer of nine years, Abel, 23, told my paper that yesterday's service was no different from those of other weeks, although there was an emphasis on church unity.

Tan said at the Chinese service he had been under tremendous stress for the past two years, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

He was alluding to investigations starting back in 2010.

However, Tan said he had been coping through prayers.

[email protected]
 

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Pastor is target of watchdog group


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Left: CHC executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain. Right: Sydney-based Reverend Phil Pringle has always felt a great affinity with City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun.

By Koh Hui Theng
The New Paper
Monday, Jul 02, 2012

New people have come on board City Harvest Church (CHC) after several of its leaders were suspended from their posts by the Commissioner of Charities (COC) on Tuesday.

On the same day that founder Kong Hee and four others were charged with misusing over $50 million of church funds, CHC appointed Reverend Phil Pringle and Rev A.R. Bernard as advisory senior pastors to continue providing spiritual leadership.

"Pastor Kong is still our senior pastor," executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain said on Thursday in a statement.

Rev Pringle is the founder and senior minister of Christian City Church in Sydney, Australia.

Now in Singapore to support CHC, Rev Pringle is himself the target of a self-appointed Christian watchdog group, C3 Church Watch.

The blog said it was "designed to watch and monitor C3 Church and its pastors, specifically Phil Pringle."

It has raised questions about the New Zealand-born pastor's religious credentials and teachings.

Rev Pringle moved to Australia in 1980 with his wife, Chris, to start Christian City Church in Sydney.

The movement has over 300 congregations globally, a far cry from the 13 people in the first service.

His Facebook biography said: "Our 2020 Vision is to plant and grow 1,000 churches and we're on target to meet this."

Local news reports first mentioned Rev Pringle in 2010, when Kong, 47, was called to help the police who were investigating the alleged misuse of church funds then. He had met the Kongs during their honeymoon.

"From the start, I always felt a great affinity with Kong and Sun (Ms Ho Yeow Sun)," he told CHC's online portal, City News last year.

"There are some relationships that God joins together, and you've got to recognise, respect and nurture those relationships, no matter what."

Meanwhile, Panama-born Rev Bernard, 58, enjoys a high profile in the US. He's the founder and CEO of Christian Cultural Centre in New York, which has over 36,000 members.

The New York Times profiled him in a May report on the power players in the city, calling him "an adept political force... a preacher who would rather guide public policy behind the scenes than shout about it in front of the cameras".

In 2006, while in Singapore, Rev Bernard told CHC's Harvest Times newsletter how he had worked with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to draw up a list of potential candidates to lead the council for human rights, the ageing and immigration.

'Inaccurate'

On Thursday, CHC issued a statement to say that it was inaccurate to say that "the church has been cheated of $50 million".

When asked on Friday how the church leadership intended to correct the "inaccurate" allegations, CHC declined to comment.

A spokesman told The New Paper: "As the matter is now before the court, we are unable to provide any comment for your questions about the case."

The prosecution's case is that $24 million was used to fund the Crossover Project.

The Business Times reported on Friday that, under the Crossover Project, more than 80 concerts were held between 2002 and 2009 and drew a million people. The church estimated that 390,000 of these people responded at these concerts.

Rev Pringle called the project the missions part, something that is "a core tenet of faith for CHC".

By 2010, the church had launched 96 humanitarian projects globally as a result of the Crossover Project, though these are separate from the project itself, he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper.
 

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Sun Ho praised and razed after husband, CHC leaders charged


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By Maureen Koh and Benita Aw Yeong

The New Paper
Thursday, Jul 05, 2012

Sun Ho's been praised and razed after her husband and CHC leaders were charged with criminal breach of trust to support her music career. But what do people who know her and have worked with her say?

"I want you guys to know that Sun Ho is on the train to world domination."

- US choreographer Laurieanne Gibson, best known for her work with Lady Gaga, Diddy and Katy Perry and her reality show, Dance Scene. Uploaded on YouTube on Sept 30, 2009

"She's sharp, she's quick, she understands it. Let's get the list straight now - Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Lauryn Hill, Mary J Blige, Whitney Houston, Shakira, Sun... What all of these women have in common is that they all bring their culture, and exactly where they come from to the music, and they don't compromise where they come from and try to adapt to your style. So they're basically like, this is who I am and this is what I represent and I'm going to put my people on the map, and you're either going to ride with me, or not ride with me."

- Wyclef Jean, Haitian-American musician and record producer, talking on a video uploaded to video-sharing site Dailymotion on June 19, 2008. He produced China Wine.

"She's branding a great name here. Her music is very uplifting and emotional. She's doing the same genre as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, and she just needs more exposure."

- Deejay Mike Rizzo from New York radio station WKTU, in an interview with The New Paper in 2004.

"She was very authentic, polite and treated people well. This didn't change even after she became famous."

- Celebrity hairstylist and CEO of Monsoon Hair Group Addy Lee, who has known Ms Ho for more than 10 years, speaking to TNPS last week.

"I was depressed and had given up on everything. I just sent her a message to tell her goodbye. She was doing a show or something, but she immediately directed someone to call me. A team came to my home and helped me through the most difficult times of my life. After she was done with work, Sun called me and assured me that I could still call her anytime if I needed.

- CHC member Adeline Khoo, 45, who was on the verge of suicide and had sent Ms Ho a message about 10 years ago.

"She's media-savvy and knows how to offer the right answers to our questions. You don't get the feeling that she's pretentious, unlike some of the celebrities whom I have interviewed. But what I found strange was that when she (and Kong Hee) moved into their previous home at River Valley, they were the ones who contacted us and offered us the story."

- U Weekly's entertainment reporter Darien Choong, 36, who has interviewed Ms Ho several times since she first launched her album.

"I had hate mail from some of her supporters and church members. I described the album as 'tasteless' and 'a waste of money'. But I met Sun at an event (after the second bad review) and when she knew who I was, she said, 'I'll keep working hard and I'm confident one day I'll change your mind.' I was impressed, but sadly, that chance never came. And I don't think she can revive her singing career now."

- Retired freelance music reviewer George Tan, 54, who panned two of her albums, Sun With Love and Embrace, in the now-defunct Woman's World.
 

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Complaints prompted probe into City Harvest: Chan Chun Sing


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AsiaOne
Monday, Jul 09, 2012

The probe into City Harvest Church's possible misuse of church funds was prompted by feedback and complaints in 2010, said Mr Chan Chun Sing.

The Acting Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports told Parliament on Monday that the investigation was not sparked by the governance review the Commissioner of Charities (COC) undertook in 2008 of City Harvest Church and six other large charities.

In response to a question about why the the Commissioner of Charities' governance review did not uncover the lack of compliance with regulations and the code of governance, Mr Chan said signs of mismanagement or fraud cannot always be detected in a governance review.

He added that the COC makes use of other sources of information such as feedback, complaints or whistle-blowing to determine whether to launch an investigation or formal inquiry into a charity.

Five people including founder Kong Hee were arrested and charged with conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars. The Commissioner of Charities also suspended eight board members or agents of the church.

[email protected]
 
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City Harvest Church ex-finance chief charged


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AsiaOne
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2012

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church's (CHC) ex-finance chief Serina Wee, 35, was charged this morning, making her the sixth person to face criminal charges over the alleged siphoning of church funds.

City Harvest case: Where the $23 million allegedly went
The Straits Times reported that Wee faces six charges of criminal breach of trust and four for falsifying accounts.

Her bail has been set at $500,000.

The other five charged so far are founding pastor Kong Hee, 47; church management board member John Lam Leng Hung, 44; Kong's deputy Tan Ye Peng, 39; church finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, 36; and investment manager Chew Eng Han, 52.

Prosecutors believe that at least $23 million was invested in alleged sham transactions to fund the pop music career of Kong's wife, Sun Ho.

The funds were said to have been put into a $13 million bond investment with Xtron Productions, while $11 million was allegedly put into another company called PT The First National Glassware.

It is believed that some of the accused also conspired to misappropriate another $26.6 million of church funds so that it would seem like the alleged sham bond investments were redeemed. This is called 'round-tripping'.

Kong arrived at the Subordinate Court at 8.55am this morning for a second mention of the high-profile case, which first came under scrutiny in early 2010, when the Commissioner of Charities (COC) received complaints alleging the misuse of the charity's funds.

The five have not pleaded guilty. The offence of criminal breach of trust carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, and/or a fine. For the charge of falsifying accounts, the accused may be punishable with a life sentence, or jail of up to 20 years and a fine.

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A look into the City Harvest Church saga

By Joanne Chan | Posted: 25 July 2012 1310 hrs

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City Harvest founding pastor Kong Hee arriving with wife Sun Ho at the courts on 27 June. (Photo: Ooi Boon Keong, TODAY)

SINGAPORE: Several senior members embroiled in the City Harvest Church financial scandal have been charged with misappropriating S$24 million to allegedly fund the music career of Sun Ho, wife of the church's founder.

Some of them are said to have used a further S$26.6 million to cover their tracks.

City Harvest Church was well established as the centre of worship for thousands of Singaporeans when the misconduct is said to have taken place between 2007 and 2009.

The charges centre around money from the church's building fund.

The key players accused of being involved in the tangled web of funds movement are church founder and president of the management board Kong Hee, vice president and senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, finance director Serina Wee, management board member John Lam Leng Hung, and investment manager Chew Eng Han.

Some S$24 million from the account was allegedly transferred to two companies as bond investments - S$13 million to Xtron Productions and S$11 million to Firna.

It's been charged that these were in fact "sham transactions" devised to conceal the diversion of the church's building fund to finance the pop music career of Sun Ho, the wife of Kong Hee.

After the church's auditor raised questions about the investments, another scheme was allegedly planned to cover their tracks.

Tan Ye Peng, Chew Eng Han, Serina Wee, and finance manager Sharon Tan are accused of falsifying church accounts and misappropriating S$26.6 million from the church's funds.

S$11.4 million was allegedly disbursed to AMAC Capital Partners, and another S$15.2 million was said to have been made to Xtron Productions.

This further sum of S$26.6 million was believed to have been used to create the impression that the sham bonds had been fully "redeemed", a process called "round-tripping".

These allegations came to light after a two-year investigation by the authorities.

The Commissioner of Charities launched a formal inquiry into the church in 2010, after receiving complaints.

A separate investigation was carried out at the same time by the Commercial Affairs Department.

- CNA/cc
 

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Accused in CHC case hire elite lawyers


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AsiaOne
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2012

SINGAPORE - Five of the six accused in the high-profile City Harvest Church (CHC) funds misappropriation case have hired Senior Counsels (SC) to represent them in court, The Straits Times reported.

CHC chairman John Lam Leng Hung, 44, has hired SC Kenneth Tan and lawyer Nicholas Narayanan of Nicholas & Tan.

CHC vice-chairman Tan Ye Peng, 39, has hired SC Chelva Rajah and N Sreenivasan of Straits Law.

Finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, 36, is being represented by SC Kannan Ramesh and Jeffrey Ong of JLC Advisors; and Chew Eng Han, 52, by SC Francis Xavier.

Former finance chief Serina Wee, 35, who has just been charged today of six counts of criminal breach of trust and four for falsifying accounts, has hired SC Andre Maniam.

Senior Counsels are, by definition, the elite of the profession.

The only one who has not hired a Senior Counsel is founding pastor Kong Hee, 47, who has engaged Member of Parliament Edwin Tong, to represent him instead.

The case had been adjourned to Aug 30 for a pre-trial conference.

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Kong Hee: I do maintain my integrity


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AsiaOne
Thursday, Jul 26, 2012

In a statement posted on City Harvest Church's website, pastor Kong Hee said that he maintains his integrity and is confident he will be vindicated.

Kong and five others are in court over the alleged misuse of more than $50 million in church funds.

Here is his statement in full:

"The Prosecution has brought 3 charges against me, which I have carefully considered with my lawyers.

"I do maintain my integrity, and will rigorously defend that integrity against these charges.

"I have and will continue to place my faith and trust in our judicial system. I will explain the facts and circumstances to the Court, and am confident that I will be vindicated.

"Sun and I would like to take this opportunity to thank God for all the people who have blessed us with their love, kindness and prayers during this challenging period of time. We have been tremendously humbled by the support and encouragement from the public, family and friends. We especially thank all those from City Harvest Church and the Christian community at large. They have been a constant source of strength.

"I respect the Court proceedings which are underway, and will not make any comment about the charges until the appropriate time and forum."
 

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City Harvest legal costs set to skyrocket


27 July 2012 3:13 PM | Updated 3:49 PM

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<cite style="display: block; font-style: normal; font-size: 10px; margin: 4px 0px; ">CHC founder and pastor Kong Hee leaving the court on 25 July. (Photo / inSing News)</cite>

In order to fight the charges filed against them, City Harvest Church founder and pastor Kong Hee and the other five have hired some of the best lawyers in Singapore.

Previous report and video:Former City Harvest Church financial director slapped with 10 charges

A rough estimation, according to Shin Min Daily, showed that the total legal cost could easily amount to more than a million dollars.

Six of the lawyers hired are senior counsels who have handled many prominent cases in the past.

Kong will continue to be represented by a four-member legal team from Allen & Gledhill led by Edwin Tong who is also the Member of Parliament for Moulmein-Kallang GRC.

The remaining five have either changed or hired additional senior counsels.

There are currently only 68 senior counsels in Singapore.

According to someone in the industry who did not want to be named, a senior counsel will typically charge $1,000- $1,300 per hour.

Based on this figure, a conservative estimated cost for a 10-day hearing alone will easily exceed a six-figure sum.

The amount can skyrocket if the case becomes complex or involves a lot of court documents.

However, other lawyers pointed out that although some will charge by the hour, in most cases, a single sum is charged for handling a case.

The six charged have already indicated that it is “unlikely” that they will be pleading guilty.

A lawyer contacted by Shin Min Daily said even though this may be the case, there is a possibility of them changing their stand during trial proceedings.

Currently all six are out on bail at $500,000 each.

 

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Kong Hee applies for permission to travel overseas

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City Harvest Church pastor Kong Hee (right) was at the subordinate courts on Monday to apply for permission to travel overseas.

AsiaOne
Monday, Jul 30, 2012

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church founding pastor Kong Hee has applied for permission from the court to travel overseas.

The Straits Times reported today that the 47-year-old pastor, who is out on $500,000 bail, appeared at the Subordinate Court on Monday.

It is understood that he is set to travel around the region for pastoral engagements.

The paper said his lawyers from Allen & Gledhill declined to reveal how much more bail had to be paid, or his travel dates and itinerary.

He is facing three charges of criminal breach of trust in the case that revolves around the misuse of over $50 million in church funds. Five other members of his church are facing charges, including criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

The offence of criminal breach of trust carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, and/or a fine. For the charge of falsifying accounts, the accused may be punishable with a life sentence, or jail of up to 20 years and a fine.

The case will be heard on Aug 30.

[email protected]

 

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SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee, who is accused of misusing church funds to help his wife's music career, has had his bail doubled.

A check with the courts showed that the bail is now set at S$1 million, twice the original figure of S$500,000.

Kong's lawyer confirmed on Monday that his client was in court to ask for permission to leave the country and that the court has granted the application.

Kong is one of six members of the church to face charges in what is believed to be the largest financial scandal to hit Singapore's charity sector to date.

- CNA/al
 

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City Harvest Church warned over fund raising for accused


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AsiaOne
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2012

Singapore's Commissioner of Charities (COC) has warned City Harvest Church about its employees' efforts to raise funds to pay the legal fees of the church's leaders facing criminal charges in court.

At issue is a donation form which surfaced this month seeking funds as a "personal gift" to the six people charged so far.

Commissioner of Charities' response

"The Commissioner of Charities' (COC) office had earlier issued a Restriction Order to the Board of City Harvest Church (CHC) to restrict CHC from paying the legal fees of the six accused persons and entering into transactions relating to payment of services to the suspended individuals and their related entities, without the approval of the COC.

The COC has informed CHC that the church and/or its employees should not be involved in raising funds for the legal expenses or setting up a specific fund for this purpose."
 

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City Harvest Church cannot raise funds for leaders' court cases: COC

By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 23 August 2012 2243 hrs

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City Harvest founding pastor Kong Hee arriving with wife Sun Ho at the courts on 27 June. (Photo: Ooi Boon Keong, TODAY)

SINGAPORE: The Commissioner of Charities (COC) said it has informed City Harvest Church that the church or its employees should not be involved in raising funds for the legal expenses of their founder and five others embroiled in the court case.

This comes amid reports that several members of the church are said to be making donations privately.

The COC had earlier issued a Restriction Order to the Board of City Harvest Church (CHC) to restrict CHC from paying the legal fees of the six accused persons or setting a specific fund for this purpose.

They are not allowed to enter into transactions relating to payment of services to the suspended individuals without the approval of the COC.

CHC's founder Kong Hee and five others have been charged with misappropriating money from the church's building fund.

Some S$24 million was allegedly transferred from the church's building fund account to two companies as bond investments.

A further sum of S$26.6 million was allegedly used to create the impression that the sham bonds had been fully redeemed, a process called round-tripping.

- CNA/cc

 

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City Harvest Church member applies for permission to leave country

By Kimberly Spykerman | Posted: 30 August 2012 1750 hrs

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Investment manager Chew Eng Han (L), a senior church member of the City Harvest Church.

SINGAPORE: One of the senior church members embroiled in the City Harvest Church case was in court on Thursday to apply for permission to go overseas.

Investment manager Chew Eng Han told reporters that his application had been granted.

His bail has been increased to S$1 million.

He was previously out on bail of S$500,000.

Chew would not say where he was going or for how long, except that it would be for multiple trips.

He told reporters at court "life goes on for me and I've every reason to be upbeat."

In July, church founder Kong Hee was also granted permission to travel.

Chew is one of six members of the church to face charges in what is believed to be the largest financial scandal to hit Singapore's charity sector to date.

Some S$24 million was allegedly transferred from the church's building fund account to two companies as bond investments.

These were alleged to be "sham transactions" meant to mask the diversion of the church's building fund to finance the music career of Ho Yeow Sun, wife of Kong Hee.

A further sum of S$26.6 million was allegedly used to create the impression that the sham bonds had been fully "redeemed", a process called "round-tripping".

Their lawyers will be back in court on October 4.

- CNA/ck
 

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Accused in City Harvest saga permitted to travel

By Leong Wai Kit | Posted: 04 October 2012 1539 hrs

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Tan Ye Peng (Photo: Tan Ye Peng Twitter @tanyepeng)

SINGAPORE: An accused in the City Harvest Church misuse of funds saga has been permitted to travel temporarily.

Tan Ye Peng, 39, applied for permission at the subordinate courts on Thursday, saying he plans to go to Indonesia for a four-day mission this month.

Tan, who is the vice-chairman of City Harvest Church, faces six counts of conspiring to commit criminal breach of trust by an agent and four counts of conspiring to falsify accounts.

Tan is among six senior church leaders, including the church's founding pastor Kong Hee, charged with varying counts of criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts.

Their passports have been impounded.

The case involved millions of dollars in City Harvest Church funds, which were allegedly siphoned off to further the music career of Kong Hee's wife, Ho Yeow Sun.

Two other accused church leaders, Kong Hee and investment manager Chew Eng Han, had applied in July and August respectively for permission to travel, and were allowed to go out of Singapore.

The countries listed in their submissions include the United States, Indonesia and South Korea.

All three accused have been allowed to travel until November 22 -- the date for their third pre-trial conference.

The pre-trial session, which will be held at noon, will be conducted behind closed doors.

Lawyers said no trial date has been set.

- CNA/lp

 

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Court grants permission for City Harvest member to travel overseas


By Alice Chia | Posted: 06 December 2012 1759 hrs

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Subordinate Courts (file photo)

SINGAPORE: The Subordinate Courts has granted permission for a senior member of City Harvest Church to travel overseas.

Chew Eng Han, an investment manager for the church, made the application in a pre-trial conference on Thursday.

In August, he had also applied for and was granted permission to go overseas.

His bail remains at S$1 million.

Chew will be back in court on 10 January next year.

He is one of the senior members of the church facing charges for misappropriating S$24 million from the church's building fund.

The other members charged include church founder and president of the management board Kong Hee, vice president and senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, finance director Serina Wee and management board member John Lam Leng Hung.

- CNA/de

 

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City Harvest case: Trial expected end of April for Kong Hee and 5 others

Published on Jan 10, 2013

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The first discovery conference for the City Harvest Church case is scheduled for Jan 31. This was decided during a pre-trial conference for the case on Thursday morning at the Subordinate Courts. None of the defendants were present. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

By Jennani Durai

The first discovery conference for the City Harvest Church case is scheduled for Jan 31. This was decided during a pre-trial conference for the case on Thursday morning at the Subordinate Courts. None of the defendants were present.

It is understood that this will mean that the case will go to trial around the end of April.

The mega church's senior pastor Kong Hee and five other key ministry leaders were arrested and charged in June last year with conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars.

Besides Kong, the others charged in the case are his deputy Tan Ye Peng, 39; church finance manager Sharon Tan, 36; church investment manager Chew Eng Han, 52; former church finance manager Serina Wee, 35; and church management board member John Lam Leng Hung, 44.


 

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Court hears City Harvest Church member's application to hire Queen's Counsel


Published on Mar 04, 2013

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Chew Eng Han, investment manager of City Harvest Church, leaving the Subordinate Courts after a pre-trial conference on Aug 30 2012. He faces 10 criminal charges over the alleged misuse of church funds. A hearing started on Monday to look into Chew's application for an elite British lawyer to defend him. -- ST FILE PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Bryna Singh

A hearing started on Monday to look into City Harvest Church member Chew Eng Han's application for an elite British lawyer to defend him. The case, however, was adjourned barely an hour into the hearing.

Justice V K Rajah told Chew's lawyer that the case was a "simple one" involving questions of fact, and not one with "complex legal issues". On that basis, he could not understand Chew's need for a Queen's Counsel (QC) to defend him.

He was also not entirely convinced that QC Caplan Jonathan Michael, whom Chew was looking to hire, had the required expertise in local statutes and trial processes here. He also felt that Chew had not given enough information in his affidavit to show that he had made "conscientious efforts" to contact other counsel to represent him.

Chew's lawyers have been given an hour to further consolidate their arguments and furnish the court additional information. The hearing resumes at noon.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 
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