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City Harvest Church founder faces the music

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lianbeng says this is bad lousy music to his ears! :biggrin: "Ladies & Gentlemen, pls rise for the Hallelujah Chorus: 'Hallelujah! Hallelujah!...'"
 

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Court dismisses City Harvest Church member's application to hire QC

By Kimberly Spykerman | Posted: 05 March 2013 1327 hrs

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

SINGAPORE: The High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application by City Harvest Church member Chew Eng Han to engage a Queen's Counsel to defend him. He is one of six church leaders accused of conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars.

City Harvest Church investment manager Chew Eng Han wanted an elite lawyer to fight his case in the upcoming criminal breach of trust trial.

He claimed he could not find a local senior counsel with the appropriate expertise to assist him, and wanted to enlist the help of a Queen's Counsel from the UK.

Chew, together with five other church leaders, is accused of funnelling S$24 million into sham bond investments to further the career of pop singer Sun Ho -- the wife of the church's senior pastor, Kong Hee.

The six are also said to have misappropriated another S$26.6 million dollars to cover up the first sum.

On Tuesday, Chew's application to engage a Queen's Counsel was dismissed by High Court Judge VK Rajah.

Justice Rajah said the legal and factual issues of the case are not complex and do not involve novel points of law that cannot be managed by a competent local counsel.

Chew's lawyer, Mr P.E Ashokan, had put forth the argument that there were novel issues in the case that would require a Queen's Counsel's expertise, highlighting that the decision of the case would have serious repercussions on the dynamics and boundaries of corporate governance for charitable or religious entities.

He added that Chew's case not only provided an opportunity to examine the issues and dynamics of corporate governance in the context of propagating faith, but would help illuminate as to whether there could be criminal intention when the money was ultimately used to fund a project that met the church's aim of spreading the Christian faith.

Justice Rajah said these were "overstatements" and added that he did not find that there were legal issues with wider ramifications. Justice Rajah also noted that Chew had failed to identify any exceptional circumstances that required the services of foreign legal counsel, and that his efforts to engage local legal counsel were neither objectively reasonable nor conscientious.

He observed that some senior counsels Chew approached had not appeared in court for a considerable amount of time, and noted that a substantial pool of competent lawyers remained to be tapped on.

Justice Rajah said that "the documents, though voluminous, are not beyond the management of competent local counsel." He added that Chew was the "sole author of his predicament".

On Monday, the lawyer for the Law Society, Christopher Daniel, had raised the point that Chew was adamant on engaging only a senior counsel, and not lawyers with the expertise to run his defence.

When asked if he plans to look outside of the senior counsel circle, Chew said he has not formed any concrete plans and may have to be open to anything if left without a choice.

"It's natural that when someone is fighting for his life, he will look for the best," he told reporters.

The trial is slated to begin in May this year. Chew said that if it becomes necessary and that he needs time to prepare his lawyer, he will ask for a deferment of dates.

- CNA/ck/ac

 

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Trial involving City Harvest Church leaders to start on 15 May

By Claire Huang | Posted: 08 March 2013 1454 hrs

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SINGAPORE: The high-profile trial involving six City Harvest Church leaders is now slated to start on 15 May.

The first tranche of the trial is expected to go on till 23 May.

Speaking after a pre-trial conference on Friday afternoon, the prosecutors and lawyers involved in this case said one of the defendants, Chew Eng Han, will be represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo.

This comes after Chew's application to engage a Queen's Counsel was dismissed by High Court Judge V K Rajah on Tuesday.

Chew, the church's investment manager, had said then that he could not find a local senior counsel with the appropriate expertise to assist him, and wanted to enlist the help of a Queen's Counsel from the United Kingdom.

Chew, together with five other church leaders including founder Kong Hee, is accused of funnelling S$24 million into sham bond investments to further the career of pop singer Sun Ho.

Ms Ho is the wife of the church's senior pastor, Kong Hee.

The six are alleged to have misappropriated another S$26.6 million to cover up the first sum.

- CNA/xq

 

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Senior Counsel Michael Khoo to represent Chew Eng Han in City Harvest trial


Published on Mar 08, 2013

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Chew Eng Han (centre) leaves court after being charged on June 27, 2012. City Harvest Church member Chew Eng Han will be represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo (not pictured) in the upcoming trial on May 15, 2013. Chew is one of six CHC leaders charged last June with conspiring to cheat the church by funnelling $24 million into sham investments to further the career of senior pastor Kong Hee's pop-singer wife, and then misappropriating another $26.6 million to cover up the misuse of the first sum. -- FILE PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

By Bryna Singh

City Harvest Church member Chew Eng Han will be represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo in the upcoming trial.

Chew told The Straits Times on Friday after a pre-trial conference that he had called Mr Khoo on Tuesday, the same day that his application to engage a Queen's Counsel - the most elite of British lawyers - to defend him was rejected. The two men met up that day and Chew said he was "very comfortable" with Mr Khoo.

On Friday, Mr Khoo was officially appointed as Chew's counsel. Because the former is involved in another case in May, the trial has been pushed back to start on May 15, instead of May 6. The first part of the trial is expected to last till May 23.

Chew is one of six CHC leaders charged last June with conspiring to cheat the church by funnelling $24 million into sham investments to further the career of senior pastor Kong Hee's pop-singer wife, and then misappropriating another $26.6 million to cover up the misuse of the first sum.

 

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Trial involving City Harvest Church leaders to begin in May

Judge appointed for trial involving six City Harvest Church leaders; trial to start in May

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Pastor Kong Hee (R in white) holds his wife Ho Yeow Sun's hand as they leave the subordinate courts in Singapore on June 27, 2012. (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE - A judge has been appointed for the trial involving leaders of City Harvest Church.

District Judge See Kee Oon will preside over the trial that is set for 15 to 23 May, which was decided during a closed-door pre-trial conference held on Friday.

Six City Harvest Church leaders, including its founder Senior Pastor Kong Hee, are charged with misusing church funds.

The others are Serina Wee Gek Yin, Chew Eng Han, Sharon Tan, Tan Ye Peng and John Lam.

The six leaders are accused of conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars.

They allegedly channelled some S$24 million into sham bond investments, and misappropriated some S$26 million to cover up the first sum.

The money was allegedly used to boost the music career of Kong Hee's wife, Sun Ho.

Channel NewsAsia understands that defence lawyers for the six Church leaders had on Friday tried to postpone the trial dates, although the reason for this was not disclosed.

Channel NewsAsia understands the prosecution "strongly objected" to the postponement of trial dates.

After hearing from the lawyers from both sides, District Judge Victor Yeo decided that the trial dates should remain unchanged.

It is understood this is because the case has been going on for almost a year, and it is in the public's interest that the trial is not postponed.

Channel NewsAsia also understands that during a closed-door session held on 15 December 2012, the prosecution had already provided the defence counsel with court documents to facilitate the preparation of an agreed statement of facts for the trial.

A final closed-door session will be held on 23 April before the trial begins.

- CNA/ck


 

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City Harvest case: Request to delay trial denied


Published on Apr 06, 2013

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City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee turns up at the Subordinate Courts on June 27, 2012, holding his wife Sun Ho’s hand. Six City Harvest Church leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million from their parish had a request to push back the start of their trial denied yesterday. -- ST FILE PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

By Lim Yan Liang

SIX City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million from their parish had a request to push back the start of their trial denied yesterday.

The highly anticipated hearing will go ahead as planned on May 15 and be presided over by Senior District Judge See Kee Onn.

At yesterday's pre-trial conference, District Judge Victor Yeo turned down the defence lawyers' request, having considered that the prosecution registered a strong objection to another delay.

Both sides declined to comment on why the defence had applied for the postponement.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

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COC considering removing 8 persons from posts in City Harvest Church

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) is considering removing eight individuals from their positions in City Harvest Church, including church founder Kong Hee, as part of the next stage of its ongoing inquiry into the charity.

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Pastor Kong Hee (R in white) holds his wife Ho Yeow Sun's hand as they leave the subordinate courts in Singapore on June 27, 2012. (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: The Commissioner of Charities (COC) is considering removing eight individuals from their positions in City Harvest Church, including church founder Kong Hee.

This will be part of the next stage of its ongoing inquiry into the charity. An inquiry into the church was instituted in May 2010.

The latest move is based on the inquiry findings of February 2011 which revealed there was misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity, particularly with regard to money in the Building Fund which had been earmarked for specific purposes. Financial irregularities of at least S$23 million was discovered.

The funds were used with the intention to finance Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career, and the inquiry found there was a concerted effort to conceal it from stakeholders.

But there is a due process which has to be observed, before any final decision on the removal can be made.

Spelling this out in detail on Tuesday, the COC said suspension orders were issued on nine church individuals in June 2012. This order is valid for 12 months.

On 28 December last year, the COC made a proposal to all nine that he would defer the next stage, should they collectively agree to a voluntary extension of their suspension orders until six months after the conclusion of the criminal trial.

This was done purely on a goodwill basis.

But there was no collective agreement on the matter. So before the lapse of the suspension order, the COC intends to proceed with the removal process against eight of them.

They are Kong Hee as well as church trustees and employees Lam Leng Hung, Tan Ye Peng, Kelvin Teo Meng How, Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, Jacqueline Tan Su Pheng, Chew Eng Han and Serina Wee Gek Yin.

As for Ho Yeow Sun, the COC says there is insufficient evidence for now to indicate she was responsible for or facilitated the mismanagement in the charity.

But before a decision on the removal can be made, those affected can make representations to the COC.

For four individuals - namely Kong Hee, Lam Leng Hung, Tan Ye Peng and Kelvin Teo Meng How - the CoC is also inviting representations from the public on the proposal to remove them.

All representations to the COC have to be made by 13 May.

The final decision on whether to remove them, would be made in consultation with the Attorney-General.

Those affected by the decision have recourse to appeal to the High Court.

Meanwhile, the COC stressed that any individual who is removed may continue with his religious duties.

These are separate from holding any governance or management positions in the charity, and that normal services of the charity can continue as usual.

Also, any action taken by the COC is separate and independent from the ongoing criminal cases.

- CNA/ir

 

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City Harvest executive pastor to continue helming church affairs

City Harvest Church said its executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain will continue to helm church affairs.

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City Harvest church at Jurong Street 91 - TODAY photo.

SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church said Wednesday that its executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain will continue to helm church affairs, after consultation with the organisation's management board.

Mr Zulkarnain, who is also the church’s management board's chairman, began leading the organisation some 10 months ago when Pastor Kong and other leaders were suspended from their duties.

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) on Tuesday said that it was considering removing eight church leaders from their posts as not all had agreed to voluntarily extend their suspension until six months after the criminal trial, which starts on 15 May.

The COC previously found in an inquiry that there were financial irregularities of at least S$23 million in the management of church funds.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the church leaders’ lawyers are studying the Commissioner's report and will decide whether to make representations on why they should not be removed.

All representations to the COC have to be made by 13 May.

The COC emphasised on Tuesday that its actions are independent and separate from the criminal proceedings against six of the suspended individuals.

- CNA/jc

 

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Judge explains why City Harvest member denied foreign senior counsel

POSTED: 11 Apr 2013 4:51 PM

Judge of Appeal V K Rajah said Wednesday that the admission of foreign senior counsel could be granted in cases where the interests of an individual or issues pertaining solely to that individual “are so out of the ordinary that they require special consideration”


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A boat sails past Parliament House (R) and the Supreme Court (L) along the river in Singapore. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: The admission of foreign senior counsel, such as a Queen’s Counsel, could be granted in cases where the interests of an individual or issues pertaining solely to that individual “are so out of the ordinary that they require special consideration”, Judge of Appeal V K Rajah said Wednesday.

For example, an individual may be able to establish that his case is exceptional if he can prove that, despite all reasonable efforts conscientiously made, he cannot find any competent local counsel to represent him.

This “exceptional case” would then constitute as a “special reason” under the Legal Profession Act, said Justice Rajah in a 50-page judgment released on Wednesday.

In it, he laid out the legal principles governing applications for the ad hoc admission of foreign senior counsel in criminal cases and further explained why City Harvest Church member Chew Eng Han’s application for an elite British lawyer was dismissed last month.

Chew is among six church leaders charged last June with conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars by funnelling S$24 million into sham investments to further the career of Senior Pastor Kong Hee’s pop-singer wife, and then misappropriating another S$26.6 million to cover up the misuse of the first sum.

Under the Legal Profession Act, there are three areas — criminal law, family law, and constitutional and administrative law — where the courts will weigh the need for foreign lawyers.

Justice Rajah said it would be mandatory for the “special reason” criterion to be made out for applications for foreign senior counsel involving the three restricted areas of law.

In addition, four requirements, such as the nature of the factual and legal issues involved, as well as the necessity for the services of a foreign senior counsel, must be satisfied before one is admitted, he added.

At the hearing, Deputy Chief Counsel Aurill Kam, who represented the Attorney-General, felt that a case must raise significant matters of “a macro nature” before it can be considered an exception.

Justice Rajah, however, felt that there “is no sound policy reason to limit the court’s discretion to only cases of a macro nature”. “It would be preferable for the court to simply decide, based on the facts and circumstances of each case, whether the case before it is exceptional,” he added.

For Chew’s application, Justice Rajah found that the factual and legal issues involved in his case were not complex enough to justify the ad hoc admission of a foreign senior counsel.

The High Court Judge was also satisfied that there was an untapped “substantial number of more than competent local counsel and senior counsel to represent the accused in the criminal proceedings”.

Last month, Chew appointed Senior Counsel Michael Khoo to represent him, three days after his application was dismissed by Justice Rajah.

-TODAY/jc

 

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Charities watchdog clears air on bid to remove City Harvest leaders

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By Tan Dawn Wei
The Straits Times
Thursday, Apr 11, 2013

SINGAPORE - The commissioner's office explained that there are avenues available to each of the eight to have their cases heard.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) has released a statement below to clarify the bid to remove eight church members from City Harvest Church's office. This announcement came after the City Harvest supporters have pointed that the COC's report on the supposedly mismanagement of funds at the church has not been made public.

Here is the full statement from The Office of the Commissioner of Charities:

COMMISSIONER OF CHARITIES ACTS TO PROTECT CHARITABLE ASSETS - INVITES REPRESENTATIONS TO PROPOSAL TO REMOVE INDIVIDUALS BACKGROUND

Pursuant to section 8 of the Charities Act ("the Act"), the Commissioner of Charities ("COC") instituted an Inquiry into the City Harvest Church ("the Charity") on May 31, 2010. From the Report of the Inquiry dated February 7, 2011 ("the Inquiry Report"), it was revealed that there was misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the Charity, particularly in relation to the funds that were in the

Building Fund which had been raised and earmarked for specific purposes. Financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the funds have been discovered. These funds were used with the purported intention to finance Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career.

The Inquiry found that there was a concerted effort to conceal the movement of funds from its stakeholders. The details of the main acts of misconduct and mismanagement as extracted from the Report of the Inquiry are provided in the Annex.


 

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City Harvest Church's founder, wife did not confirm consent to voluntarily extend suspension orders: COC

By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid
POSTED: 11 Apr 2013 10:16 PM

City Harvest Church's founder Kong Hee and his wife Sun Ho were not among the five church leaders who reaffirmed their consent to voluntarily extend their suspension orders.

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Harvest church at Jurong Street 91 - TODAY photo.

SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church's founder Kong Hee and his wife Sun Ho were not among the five church leaders who reaffirmed their consent to voluntarily extend their suspension orders.

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) had asked for eight church leaders - including Senior Pastor Kong, who had initially given their consent on 7 February, to confirm by 25 March this year.

This was revealed by the Commissioner in a statement to clarify why he had "no choice but to proceed with regulatory action", and propose to remove the eight from their management positions.

The Commissioner of Charities' inquiry into City Harvest Church, instituted in May 2010, has revealed misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity particularly to money in the Building Fund, earmarked for specific purposes.

Financial irregularities of at least $23 million were discovered. The funds were used with the intention to finance Sun Ho's secular music career, and the inquiry had found that there was a concerted effort to conceal it from stakeholders.

On 28 December 2012, the Commissioner proposed to nine church leaders that it would defer the next stage of regulatory action if all nine agreed to voluntarily extend their suspension orders.

By 7 February 2013, eight out of nine, including Pastor Kong Hee and Sun Ho, had initially consented to this proposal.

Although there was no collective agreement, as one person did not consent, the Commissioner said it was still prepared to defer regulatory action.

On 14 March 2013, it asked the eight persons to confirm in writing that they are still agreeable to voluntarily extend their suspension.

A final deadline of 25 March 2013 was given.

But by then, the Commissioner only received consents from five of them.

This time, pastor Kong Hee and Sun Ho were not among the five who reaffirmed their consent even though they had agreed to do so earlier.

The Commissioner said because the individual cases are linked, he could not extend the suspension only for those who gave their confirmations.

Separately, in his latest statement on 11 April, Pastor Kong maintained that the premise for the Commissioner's offer had changed.

He said as he and his wife had already agreed to the original terms in February 2013, they did not see any reason to consent again to the revised offer.

There was no mention of the 25 March deadline in his latest statement.

The Commissioner has allowed all eight persons to make representations before deciding on removing them.

For four individuals, the Commissioner is also inviting representations from the public. They are:

- Pastor Kong Hee;

- Chairman of City Harvest Church's Board Lam Leng Hung who served as its Treasurer from 7 March 2010 to 10 April 2011;

- Vice-Chairman of City Harvest Church's Board Tan Ye Peng; and

- Key officer of City Harvest Church Kelvin Teo Meng How who exercises general control and management of the Charity's administration.

All representations to the Commissioner of Charities have to be made by 13 May 2013.

It is understood that some church-goers have already submitted representations to the Commissioner of Charities not to remove their leaders.

- CNA/de

 

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City Harvest Scandal: It'll be over by next year, Kong tells churchgoers


Pastor reassures followers in wake of COC bid to remove him from office


Published on Apr 15, 2013

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City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun leaving court last year. Kong and seven church leaders were suspended by the Commissioner of Charities last year after an inquiry revealed fund mismanagement. -- ST FILE PHOT

By Jermyn Chow & Melody Zaccheus And Lim Yi Han

City Harvest Church founding pastor Kong Hee rallied his congregation during the weekend's church services, telling them that by next year, "everything should be all over".

This was the first time that he had spoken to churchgoers since the Commissioner of Charities (COC) said last Tuesday that it is acting to remove him and seven church leaders from office over multimillion-dollar corruption allegations.

Its bid to oust them is the latest setback that City Harvest - with over 19,800 active followers - has suffered since Kong was among around a dozen of its leaders questioned after complaints about church finances in 2010.

Yesterday, he assured his congregation: "You've been holding on for three years. One more year. One more year and it will be all over."

BACKGROUND STORY

WHAT KONG SAID

Reassuring his congregation

"You've been holding on for three years. One more year. One more year and it will be all over."

On his innocence

"And yes, I do maintain my integrity."

Tempering the church's optimism

"While I don't know what is going to happen one year from now, I don't know will I still be standing here, but (from) the way you clap, I better be standing here."

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

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City Harvest Church opens overseas branch despite scandal


California branch is its first in US and 'operates autonomously'

Published on Apr 22, 2013

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Services are being held at a movie theatre at Irvine Campus, University of California. Even as its leaders are battling criminal charges of embezzlement among other problems, City Harvest Church (CHC) has opened its 48th overseas branch, in Orange County, California. -- FILE PHOTO: CITY HARVEST CHURCH

By Melody Zaccheus

Even as its leaders are battling criminal charges of embezzlement among other problems, City Harvest Church (CHC) has opened its 48th overseas branch, in Orange County, California.

The church, which is CHC's first in the United States and its farthest branch from Singapore, joins a network of 47 others in places such as Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia.

CHC supports its affiliates financially and also sponsors church workers to attend its School of Theology here.

Former CHC Singapore executive pastor Derek Dunn, 40, who is leading CHC USA, told The Straits Times that funds for the Orange County branch have come from Singapore, his own speaking engagements and donations to Derek Dunn Ministries.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.


 

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Individuals can ask for access to City Harvest inquiry report

POSTED: 23 Apr 2013 6:02 PM
UPDATED: 23 Apr 2013 9:53 PM

Individuals who wish to be granted access to the authorities' inquiry report on the alleged misconduct of City Harvest Church may write to the Commissioner of Charities (COC) office to make a request.

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Pastor Kong Hee (R in white) holds his wife Ho Yeow Sun's hand as they leave the subordinate courts in Singapore on June 27, 2012. (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: Individuals who wish to be granted access to the authorities' inquiry report on the alleged misconduct of City Harvest Church may write to the Commissioner of Charities (COC) office to make a request.

Approval will be given at the discretion of the COC, based on whether there are good and sufficient reasons, for example.

COC's office said in a statement it is seeking representations from all affected individuals and members of the public on the proposal to remove four of the church's senior members.

They are Kong Hee, Lam Leng Hung, Tan Ye Peng and Kelvin Teo Meng How, who served as governing board member, trustee and key officer.

"The COC's invitation for representations is to allow members of the public to provide representations on the COC's proposal to remove - on matters such as whether the COC should proceed to remove, the timing of such removal, and the impact of the proposed removal on the Charity and/or any persons - and to allow persons with additional or specific information which may affect the findings... to provide such information," the COC said.

COC's office said the removal proceedings are part of a regulatory process under the Charities Act which follows the inquiry's findings.

The inquiry, which began on 31 May 2010, had found misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the church.

The COC's office noted that the COC is not prejudging the case in doing so, adding that the objectives of the criminal trial are distinct and separate from the objectives of the COC's actions.

The COC's office added those individuals who have been removed from their positions may continue with their religious duties as pastors of the church.

It said these are separate from the holding of any governance or management positions in the charity.

Channel NewsAsia understands that Pastor Kong has yet to submit his own representation to the COC.

- CNA/ir

 

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City Harvest Church: Trial judge meets with defence lawyers of leaders accused of fraud

Published on Apr 23, 2013

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Kong Hee, founding pastor of City Harvest Church, arrives at the Subordinate Courts, on July 25, 2012. Senior District Judge See Kee Oon, who will be presiding over the trial of the six City Harvest Church leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million of church funds, met with their defence lawyers on Tuesday. -- ST FILE PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

By Bryna Singh

Senior District Judge See Kee Oon, who will be presiding over the trial of the six City Harvest Church leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million of church funds, met with their defence lawyers on Tuesday.

Although there have been several pre-trial conferences leading up to the trial, set to begin on May 15, this was the first involving the defence lawyers and the trial judge.

Besides founding pastor Kong Hee, the other five church leaders are represented by senior counsel. Kong has engaged lawyer Edwin Tong.

On Tuesday, the parties sorted out administrative and logistic matters.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

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State of play of upcoming City Harvest Church members' trial

By Claire Huang
POSTED: 07 May 2013 10:59 PM

On 15 May, all eyes will be on one of the country's most-anticipated trials involving six key members of City Harvest Church.

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City Harvest church at Jurong Street 91 - TODAY photo.

SINGAPORE: On 15 May, all eyes will be on one of the country's most-anticipated trials involving six key members of City Harvest Church.

The six, including founder Kong Hee, are accused of misappropriating millions of dollars to fund the music career of his wife, Sun Ho.

In May 2010, the Commercial Affairs Department launched investigations into certain financial transactions of City Harvest Church.

In June 2012, five of its church leaders were charged in court.

They were - president of the church's management board Kong Hee, vice-president Tan Ye Peng, board member John Lam Leng Hung, investment manager Chew Eng Han and finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen.

In July 2012, finance manager Serina Wee Gek Yin became the sixth member to be charged.

The six leaders are accused of committing criminal breach of trust.

Kong Hee, John Lam, Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng and Serina Wee allegedly misused church buildings funds amounting to S$24 million by channelling the money into two companies, Xtron Productions and PT The First National Glassware (Firna), as bond investments.

The misappropriation allegedly took place between January 2007 and October 2008.

Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng, Serina Wee and Sharon Tan are said to have misappropriated some S$26 million to cover up the first sum.

The same four church leaders also face four counts of conspiring to falsify accounts, said to have happened between April and October 2009.

The funds were allegedly used to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Sun Ho.

Leading the prosecution is Mavis Chionh, who will be assisted by five others. They are Mr Tan Kiat Pheng, Mr Christopher Ong Siu Jin, Ms Grace Goh, Mr Joel Chen and Mr Jeremy Yeo.

As for the defence team, five of the six accused persons are represented by senior counsel.

Tan is represented by Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah and N Sreenivasan, Lam by Senior Counsel Kenneth Tan and Mr Nicholas Narayanan, Chew by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo, Sharon Tan by Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh and Mr Jeffrey Ong, and Wee by Senior Counsel Andre Maniam.

Kong is the only exception and he is represented by Mr Edwin Tong.

Channel NewsAsia understands the prosecution will be calling about 10 critical witnesses, while the others have yet to be confirmed as of 6 May.

Details are not known, but accountants and individuals from Xtron and Firna are expected to take the stand, with at most three witnesses slated to appear in the first tranche of the trial.

- CNA/xq

 

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Hope they get everlasting sentences..so they can enjoy eternal incarceration. ..they can always b-s themselves to believe that prison is a better place ..
 

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Sun Ho not in prosecution witness list for first tranche of City Harvest members' trial

By Claire Huang
POSTED: 10 May 2013 6:29 PM

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File photo: Kong Hee (R in white) with his wife Sun Ho as they leave the subordinate courts in Singapore. (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: Singer Sun Ho is not on the prosecution's witness list for next week's trial involving six leaders of the City Harvest Church, one of whom is her husband, Kong Hee.

This was confirmed by the prosecution on Friday afternoon after it met defence lawyers in court to sort out the logistics.

On Tuesday, Channel NewsAsia reported that the first tranche of the trial will see not more than three key prosecution witnesses.

On Friday, prosecution confirmed that they are Ms Lai Bao Ting, former accounts staff of the church, Ms Angie Koh, employee of an accounting firm hired by the church and Director of Xtron Productions, Koh Siow Ngea.

The six leaders, who are battling criminal breach of trust accusations, are president of the church's management board Kong Hee, vice-president Tan Ye Peng, board member John Lam Leng Hung, investment manager Chew Eng Han and finance managers Sharon Tan Shao Yuen and Serina Wee Gek Yin.

Kong Hee, John Lam Lee Hung, Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng and Serina Wee Gek Yin allegedly misused church buildings funds amounting to S$24 million by channelling the money into two companies, Xtron Productions and PT The First National Glassware (Firna), as bond investments.

This allegedly took place between January 2007 and October 2008.

Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng, Serina Wee Gek Yin and Sharon Tan Shao Yuen are said to have channelled some S$26 million to cover up the first sum.

The same four church leaders also face four counts of conspiring to falsify accounts, said to have happened between April and October 2009.

The funds were allegedly used to boost Sun Ho's music career.

Channel NewsAsia previously reported there are 10 key prosecution witnesses.

On Friday, the prosecution confirmed that it has another nine potential witnesses, including officers from the Commercial Affairs Department.

The first tranche of the trial will be from 15 May to 23 May 2013.

The court will vacate on 17 May 2013 as it is the annual Malaysia versus Singapore Bench and Bar Games, where lawyers from both countries compete in sports including basketball and tennis.

The second tranche of the trial is set from 26 August to 20 September 2013.

Talks of a third tranche are underway and it is expected to be early next year.

- CNA/xq

 

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Alfrescian
Loyal

Criminal trial against six City Harvest Church leaders may stretch into 2014


Published on May 10, 2013

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Kong Hee (second left), founding pastor of City Harvest Church, holding hands with wife Ho Yeow Sun (third left). Kong Hee and four other leaders of the church were charged with the misuse of the church's funds to finance Ho Yeow Sun's music career. The trial against the six City Harvest Church leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million, may stretch beyond 2013. -- MY PAPER FILE PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

By Bryna Singh

The trial against the six City Harvest Church leaders accused of embezzling more than $50 million, may stretch beyond 2013.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong told The Straits Times on Friday that provisions are being made for a third leg of the hearing, likely to be early next year.

The trial begins next Wednesday, with the second leg scheduled from August to September this year.

The prosecution's three witnesses for first leg include Ms Lai Baoting, a former accounts staff member of the church, Ms Angie Koh, an employee in a firm that handles the church's accounts, and Mr Koh Siow Ngea, director of Xtron Productions.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

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Generous Asset

Deadline extended for City Harvest members to submit objections


POSTED: 13 May 2013 7:28 PM

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City Harvest Church founding pastor Kong Hee, 47, (centre) arrives at the Subordinate Court in Singapore on July 25, 2012.

SINGAPORE: The Commissioner of Charities (COC) has extended the deadline for eight City Harvest Church members to submit objections to COC's proposal to remove them from their positions in the church.

They were originally given a one-month deadline, which ends on 13 May, to make representations. As a "goodwill gesture", the COC has given them another two months.

The eight individuals are church founder Kong Hee, Lam Leng Hung, Tan Ye Peng, Kelvin Teo Meng How, Tan Shao Yuen Sharon, Serina Wee Gek Yin, Tan Su Pheng Jacqueline and Chew Eng Han.

On 9 April, the COC had invited representations from the eight individuals on his proposal to remove them.

The eight individuals had through their lawyers written separately to the COC for a two-month extension for them to make representations.

To act fairly towards the suspended individuals whilst protecting the property of the charity (that is, City Harvest Church), the COC decided to extend the deadline to 13 July.

The COC said this is a goodwill gesture which exceeds the time to be accorded for the making of such representations in the Charities Act.

In return, the eight individuals voluntarily agreed to an extension of their respective suspension orders by two months.

The Governing Board of the Charity has similarly asked for, and obtained, a two-month extension of the deadline.

The COC has also discharged the suspension orders with regard to Ho Yeow Sun's positions (as an agent, employee and executive member of the charity) with effect from 13 May.

Ho Yeow Sun is the wife of Kong Hee.

The COC said it will consider all representations received within the deadline fully and fairly so as to decide whether to proceed with the proposal to remove or whether his proposal should be modified.

The COC may only make a removal order with the consent of the Attorney General as required under the Charities Act.

On 9 April, the COC had also invited representations from the public to be made to him by 13 May on his proposal to remove four individuals: Kong Hee, Lam Leng Hung, Tan Ye Peng and Kelvin Teo Men How.

The invitation for representations from the public is now closed.


- CNA/ir

 
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