[h=2]TITLE: City Harvest trial: Sun Ho's US album release scuppered by investigations, says Kong Hee[/h]By Kimberly Spykerman
POSTED: 14 Aug 2014 13:33
URL: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/city-harvest-trial-sun-ho/1312268.html
Publicity plans included proposed appearances on shows like Gossip Girl and CSI, as well as magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire, church founder tells court.SINGAPORE: The start of investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department scuppered plans for the release of Sun Ho's debut English album, her husband, City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee, told the court on Thursday (Aug 14).
Kong said the album was slated for release in the United States on Aug 17, 2010.
Her team in America had laid out publicity plans to tie in with her album release. This included pitches to appear on popular television shows such as Gossip Girl, Dancing With the Stars and CSI: New York, as well as features in magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire.
She was also supposed to embark on a radio tour, meant to kick off in New York City.
But when Ms Ho was summoned back to Singapore sometime in June 2010 for the investigations, "all the work and money put in over the years (went) down the drain", Kong said.
"There was no possibility of any recoverability," said Kong of the costs, adding that Indonesian businessman and long-time church member Wahju Hanafi and his family would have to step in and make good all the losses.
Kong and his deputies are accused of using millions of church dollars to buy sham bonds in two church-linked companies to fund Ms Ho's secular pop music career as part of the church's Crossover Project - a way of spreading the Gospel through pop music.
Earlier, Kong said Ms Ho's album had already been delayed after she had to undergo two surgeries for abdominal adhesions.
POSTED: 14 Aug 2014 13:33
URL: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/city-harvest-trial-sun-ho/1312268.html
Publicity plans included proposed appearances on shows like Gossip Girl and CSI, as well as magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire, church founder tells court.SINGAPORE: The start of investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department scuppered plans for the release of Sun Ho's debut English album, her husband, City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee, told the court on Thursday (Aug 14).
Kong said the album was slated for release in the United States on Aug 17, 2010.
Her team in America had laid out publicity plans to tie in with her album release. This included pitches to appear on popular television shows such as Gossip Girl, Dancing With the Stars and CSI: New York, as well as features in magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire.
She was also supposed to embark on a radio tour, meant to kick off in New York City.
But when Ms Ho was summoned back to Singapore sometime in June 2010 for the investigations, "all the work and money put in over the years (went) down the drain", Kong said.
"There was no possibility of any recoverability," said Kong of the costs, adding that Indonesian businessman and long-time church member Wahju Hanafi and his family would have to step in and make good all the losses.
Kong and his deputies are accused of using millions of church dollars to buy sham bonds in two church-linked companies to fund Ms Ho's secular pop music career as part of the church's Crossover Project - a way of spreading the Gospel through pop music.
Earlier, Kong said Ms Ho's album had already been delayed after she had to undergo two surgeries for abdominal adhesions.
