SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee will continue preaching at the church despite facing three charges of criminal breach of trust as an agent.
And so will his deputy pastor, Tan Ye Peng, 39, who faces 10 charges.
The church's executive pastor, Mr Aries Zulkarnain, said this in a statement issued by the church to the press on Thursday night.
He also said that the church is standing by its five members who were charged on Wednesday.
They face several counts over the misuse of funds with the purported intention to finance Ms Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career to connect with people.
Ms Ho, 42, who goes by the stage name Sun Ho, is Kong's wife.
The court was told that $24 million was allegedly siphoned off in alleged sham bond investments and another $26.6 million was then used to allegedly cover the first sum.
Referring to the allegations, Mr Zulkarnain said: "It has been suggested that the church has been cheated of $50 million. This is not accurate.
"The $24 million, which went to investment bonds, was returned to the church in full, with interest. We didn't lose the $24 million, nor did we lose 'another $26.6m' as alleged.
"The church did not lose any funds in the relevant transactions, and no personal profit was gained by the individuals concerned."
Mr Bobby Chaw, the pastor in charge of missions at CHC, said that actions had been taken over the past two years in accordance with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports' code of governance.
Speaking on behalf of the CHC board, he added: "We replaced 50 per cent of our board with new members. We engaged RSM Chio Lim to do a full internal audit and we have been putting their recommendations into action, and will continue to do so."
He said the church was surprised that the Commissioner of Charities (COC) chose to implement the suspensions of the members involved without prior notice.
"We have been co-operating with COC for two years since the start of the case, so these sudden suspensions came as a surprise to us," he said.
CHC's advisory pastor, Rev Dr Phil Pringle - who has travelled here from Sydney, Australia, to support the CHC leadership - said that he and CHC's advisory chairman, Dr A.R. Bernard, fully believe in and endorse the church's Crossover Project as a mission to reach the world.
Fundamental mission
The church states that the Crossover Project is not about one person's singing career but a mission that is fundamental to CHC's congregation.
The Business Times (BT) reported on Thursday that it had earlier asked the police if the initial $24 million allegedly misappropriated was returned to the church.
Replying to this, a police spokesman told BT: "Generally, in law, the offence of criminal breach of trust of monies is established once there is misappropriation of the monies with the requisite intent, regardless of whether there have or have not been subsequent attempts at restitution by the accused."
After news broke about the case, there have been mixed reactions online, including from church members.
Ms Ho and Kong, 47, are still active on Twitter, and Kong continues to receive many likes for his tweets, which are forwarded to his Facebook account.
A Kong supporter, Liza MCkenzie, wrote on his Facebook page: "There is a BIG DIFFERENCE in KNOWING A PERSON and KNOWING ABOUT A PERSON... and Pastor Kong is someone that I know, not someone that I know about... you have our support Pastor Kong! Don't give up."
But some church members have been questioning the money used to promote Ms Ho's singing career.
One church member who wanted to be known as only Mr B. Luo, 23, a student, told The New Paper on Thursday: "If the funds were really used to fund her career, a lot of us would be disappointed.
"People starved themselves and sold their houses just to give to the fund. Before she went to Hollywood, the church fasted and prayed over it."
Some church members also see their pastor's wife as provocative and controversial.
A delivery assistant who wanted to be known only as Mr Vince, 33, said: "Before she became a singer, I found her a nice person. After she went into entertainment, we were told by some like Pastor Kong not to call her 'Pastor'."
Recalling how Ms Ho had worn an evening gown with a plunging neckline to the Hollywood Film Festival in 2003, he said: "I didn't feel shocked, but I found it provocative. I felt like she was no longer the person I used to know."
Not only was Mr Vince uncomfortable with Ms Ho's sexy dressing, he also did not like her song lyrics which he had heard in her music videos.
"I respect her as a pastor's wife, but not as a singer," he said.
Criticised
Some netizens have criticised Ms Ho for being untalented and having bought her way into Hollywood.
Earlier, in 2003, some CHC members had complained to the media about how Kong would show videos of Ms Ho and praise her at the start of the church service.
The members also expressed their displeasure over their church being used to drum up votes for Ms Ho at the MTV Asia Awards in 2003.
Mr Chua, 58, who used to attend CHC for six years, said he had felt "some sort of pressure" to buy MsHo's music CD albums.
"The church was very good at persuading the members to do so," said Mr Chua, a retiree, who paid about $20 for a CD which he has not listened to.
In 2003, a church member, Mr Roland Poon Siew Kay, complained to the press about how money was allegedly misused to fund Ms Ho's singing career.
He later had to apologise publicly to the couple in newspaper advertisements.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
And so will his deputy pastor, Tan Ye Peng, 39, who faces 10 charges.
The church's executive pastor, Mr Aries Zulkarnain, said this in a statement issued by the church to the press on Thursday night.
He also said that the church is standing by its five members who were charged on Wednesday.
They face several counts over the misuse of funds with the purported intention to finance Ms Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career to connect with people.
Ms Ho, 42, who goes by the stage name Sun Ho, is Kong's wife.
The court was told that $24 million was allegedly siphoned off in alleged sham bond investments and another $26.6 million was then used to allegedly cover the first sum.
Referring to the allegations, Mr Zulkarnain said: "It has been suggested that the church has been cheated of $50 million. This is not accurate.
"The $24 million, which went to investment bonds, was returned to the church in full, with interest. We didn't lose the $24 million, nor did we lose 'another $26.6m' as alleged.
"The church did not lose any funds in the relevant transactions, and no personal profit was gained by the individuals concerned."
Mr Bobby Chaw, the pastor in charge of missions at CHC, said that actions had been taken over the past two years in accordance with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports' code of governance.
Speaking on behalf of the CHC board, he added: "We replaced 50 per cent of our board with new members. We engaged RSM Chio Lim to do a full internal audit and we have been putting their recommendations into action, and will continue to do so."
He said the church was surprised that the Commissioner of Charities (COC) chose to implement the suspensions of the members involved without prior notice.
"We have been co-operating with COC for two years since the start of the case, so these sudden suspensions came as a surprise to us," he said.
CHC's advisory pastor, Rev Dr Phil Pringle - who has travelled here from Sydney, Australia, to support the CHC leadership - said that he and CHC's advisory chairman, Dr A.R. Bernard, fully believe in and endorse the church's Crossover Project as a mission to reach the world.
Fundamental mission
The church states that the Crossover Project is not about one person's singing career but a mission that is fundamental to CHC's congregation.
The Business Times (BT) reported on Thursday that it had earlier asked the police if the initial $24 million allegedly misappropriated was returned to the church.
Replying to this, a police spokesman told BT: "Generally, in law, the offence of criminal breach of trust of monies is established once there is misappropriation of the monies with the requisite intent, regardless of whether there have or have not been subsequent attempts at restitution by the accused."
After news broke about the case, there have been mixed reactions online, including from church members.
Ms Ho and Kong, 47, are still active on Twitter, and Kong continues to receive many likes for his tweets, which are forwarded to his Facebook account.
A Kong supporter, Liza MCkenzie, wrote on his Facebook page: "There is a BIG DIFFERENCE in KNOWING A PERSON and KNOWING ABOUT A PERSON... and Pastor Kong is someone that I know, not someone that I know about... you have our support Pastor Kong! Don't give up."
But some church members have been questioning the money used to promote Ms Ho's singing career.
One church member who wanted to be known as only Mr B. Luo, 23, a student, told The New Paper on Thursday: "If the funds were really used to fund her career, a lot of us would be disappointed.
"People starved themselves and sold their houses just to give to the fund. Before she went to Hollywood, the church fasted and prayed over it."
Some church members also see their pastor's wife as provocative and controversial.
A delivery assistant who wanted to be known only as Mr Vince, 33, said: "Before she became a singer, I found her a nice person. After she went into entertainment, we were told by some like Pastor Kong not to call her 'Pastor'."
Recalling how Ms Ho had worn an evening gown with a plunging neckline to the Hollywood Film Festival in 2003, he said: "I didn't feel shocked, but I found it provocative. I felt like she was no longer the person I used to know."
Not only was Mr Vince uncomfortable with Ms Ho's sexy dressing, he also did not like her song lyrics which he had heard in her music videos.
"I respect her as a pastor's wife, but not as a singer," he said.
Criticised
Some netizens have criticised Ms Ho for being untalented and having bought her way into Hollywood.
Earlier, in 2003, some CHC members had complained to the media about how Kong would show videos of Ms Ho and praise her at the start of the church service.
The members also expressed their displeasure over their church being used to drum up votes for Ms Ho at the MTV Asia Awards in 2003.
Mr Chua, 58, who used to attend CHC for six years, said he had felt "some sort of pressure" to buy MsHo's music CD albums.
"The church was very good at persuading the members to do so," said Mr Chua, a retiree, who paid about $20 for a CD which he has not listened to.
In 2003, a church member, Mr Roland Poon Siew Kay, complained to the press about how money was allegedly misused to fund Ms Ho's singing career.
He later had to apologise publicly to the couple in newspaper advertisements.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
