City Harvest Church founder faces the music

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Worst-case scenario planned for Ho Yeow Sun's foray into the US

Published on Sep 10, 2013

City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his wife, Sun Ho, arrive at the court on Tuesday, Sept 10, 2013. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Feng Zengkun

City Harvest founder Kong Hee and his deputies had looked at worst-case scenarios if pop-singer Ho Yeow Sun's planned first English album did not do well, defence lawyers said on Tuesday.

This was part of their argument that Kong and the other church members had done their due diligence in making sure that Ms Ho's album project in the United States was viable financially and potential losses were minimal.

If Ms Ho's album revenues were only a third of what American producers had projected, the shortfall in the church's bond investments would only be $3.4 million. This could easily be repaid by Indonesian businessman and church member Wahju Hanafi, whose firm was responsible for the bond repayment, the defence said.

Kong had also asked for external lawyers and the church's auditors to vet the various transactions at the heart of the ongoing criminal trial against him and five of his deputies. This was shown in an email produced by his lawyer Edwin Tong. Mr Tong had earlier produced more emails to show that Kong had probed American producer Justin Herz to make sure the financial projections about Ms Ho's US music career were realistic and achievable.

Kong and the other five accused were charged last year with misusing about $50 million in church funds to finance Ms Ho's music career and to cover this up.

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/11/2013 14:26 | By Channel NewsAsia

Prosecution resumes questioning of key witness in CHC trial

SINGAPORE: At the trial of the six leaders of City Harvest Church on Wednesday morning, the prosecution resumed its re-examination of its key witness.

Indonesian businessman Wahju Hanafi was grilled by prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng on the discrepancies that crept up in his evidence in court over the past week.

In particular, the prosecutor questioned Mr Hanafi on why he agreed with the defence that church founder Kong Hee had been scrutinising the budget for the Crossover Project, that his wife is part of.

On September 9, lawyer Edwin Tong sought to show Kong had put much effort and thought into planning the music career of his wife, Ms Sun Ho.

Mr Tong also tried to make the point that Kong had been careful with the budget for Ms Ho's English album and tried to control it.

On Wednesday, the prosecution argued that this was not the case.

In a February 2005 email from Kong to American music producer, Justin Herz, the accused instructed Mr Herz to "plan as if 'the sky is the limit'" and then work out how they are going to get funds for the project.

This prompted an immediate objection from Mr Tong, who said the document should not be introduced in court.

The district judge allowed the move.

Kong and five of his deputies are accused of misusing S$24 million church funds to finance his wife's music career.

- CNA/fa

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Serina Wee, Kong Hee involved in financing Crossover Project: DPP

Published on Sep 11, 2013

City Harvest Church (CHC) founding member Tan Ye Peng (left) and former finance manager Serina Wee are photographed on Sept 11, 2013. The prosecution for the ongoing CHC trial sought to prove on Wednesday morning that Wee and founding pastor Kong Hee were more involved in the financing decisions of the Crossover Project than alleged by witness Mr Wahju Hanafi. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

By Tessa Wong

The prosecution for the ongoing City Harvest Church (CHC) trial sought to prove on Wednesday morning that former CHC finance manager Serina Wee and founding pastor Kong Hee were more involved in the financing decisions of the Crossover Project than alleged by witness Mr Wahju Hanafi.

Mr Hanafi had earlier testified that Kong was more involved in the "vision and mission" of the church, while Wee merely performed an administrative and budgeting role. The Indonesian businessman owns or was a director of companies involved with the alleged sham transactions to fund the Crossover Project, which was aimed at evangelising through Kong's pop-star wife Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng referred to several emails in which Wee had given specific instructions to Mr Hanafi on transfers between various bank account for the project. But he insisted that she did not deal directly with the banks on his behalf. He said: "There are no direct emails between Serina and the banks, it is just her giving instruction to me, so it sounds to me more administrative."

DPP Tan also referred to discrepancies in Mr Hanafi's testimony about Kong. While he had said Kong was not involved in the financial transactions, he had also said Kong had "expressed... how we are going to finance (the project) as well." Mr Hanafi replied that this was the "beginning stage" around 2002 to 2004, when Mr Hanafi had told Kong he wished to directly sponsor or indirectly pay for the project costs.

 

[Awake]

CHC trial: Prosecution say e-mail highlight alleged dishonest acts between accused

Prosecution witness Mr Wahju Hanafi (centre) has been linked to accused (clockwise from top right) Serina Wee, Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng and Kong Hee.

Koh Hui Theng
The New Paper
Wednesday, Sep 11, 2013

SINGAPORE - One second is all it takes to press the send button and fire off an e-mail or mobile phone message.

But that electronic dispatch lives on for much, much longer.

And years later, it can be submitted as evidence in court, as in the City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders' trial, where founder Kong Hee and five others are accused of misusing more than $50 million of church funds through sham bonds.

Their defence lawyers are arguing that there was no wrongdoing as the bond investments are common business practices.

But the way the money was channelled through a series of church-linked companies was dishonest, the prosecution countered.

As the courtroom drama plays out, e-mail and text message exchanges have been highlighted to detail the alleged insider knowledge about fund movement among the accused.

For instance, the prosecution pointed to e-mail exchanges from accused Serina Wee, who called investment gains from transactions "our money", which contradicted Indonesian tycoon Wahju Hanafi's stance that the funds were under his control.

The New Paper understands that about 100 pieces of digital evidence have been submitted so far. We follow the electronic trail.

Computers Seized

Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) raided CHC in May 2010.

They seized computers and documents from the church's offices, visited individuals and firms related to the probe and took away records and accounts.

E-mail and messages were scrutinised.

They also spoke to Kong and other people involved in handling the church finances.

In June last year, CAD officers arrested Kong at his Sentosa Cove penthouse in a predawn raid. Four others were also nabbed around the same time.

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Auditor advised church to buy property under its own name

Published on Sep 12, 2013

Auditor Foong Daw Ching (above) said City Harvest Church members had approached him over the years for advice on the church buying properties, investing in bonds and financial transactions which may require disclosure of any prior relationship between the two transacting parties. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Feng Zengkun

Auditor Foong Daw Ching said City Harvest Church members had approached him over the years for advice on the church buying properties, investing in bonds and financial transactions which may require disclosure of any prior relationship between the two transacting parties.

For example, when City Harvest was considering buying a property through a nominee company, he told the church it could do so under its own name as the New Creation Church had set a precedent for this.

Accused Serina Wee said in an email that he gave her advice, including how City Harvest should "not paint the picture that (the church) has full control but only some control over Xtron", which is a church-linked firm that allegedly helped the accused church members to misuse funds.

However, Mr Foong, a partner at accounting firm Baker Tilly which audits the church, said his advice was usually very general as he was not the church's "engagement partner" or point person at the firm. He was only the church's engagement partner for one year in 1993 before other Baker Tilly auditors took over the role. Shown an email he had sent in 2006 describing himself as City Harvest's "consultant partner", he said it was not an official title and he had made it up to give City Harvest members "comfort" that they could approach him at any time.

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/12/2013 23:54 | By Channel NewsAsia

CHC leaders allegedly tried to conceal investments made

SINGAPORE: The City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders accused of misusing church funds to finance singer Sun Ho's music career had allegedly tried to conceal the kind of investments made.

On Thursday, the prosecution sought to show this through a chain of emails dated 12 October 2007, between three of the six accused -- Chew Eng Han, Serina Wee and John Lam.

In the emails, the three discussed how they could withhold information from two parties -- the church's investment committee, as well as the church board members.

They talked about how the investment portfolio handled by Chew, who was at that time in charge of investing the church's funds, will not be seen by the board members nor the investment committee of the church.

Chew said in that email that "only the auditor will see the whole portfolio."

He added that this was "okay" as they have cleared it with the auditor, Mr Foong Daw Ching.

In the email, Chew also said: "I prefer this be kept within a small circle because of the proximity of Xtron (Productions) to Sun (Ho) and therefore to Pastor Kong (Hee). If one day someone turns away from CHC and becomes nasty, he may say all kinds of baseless things.

“The way we can do this is when you convene the committee meetings, begin to draft out the terms of the meeting given the new situation where monies are now managed externally. If the role is correctly spelt, we shouldn't have to constantly face this potential problem."

Lam then replied to the email saying: "Okay, then we go with your idea."

However, Mr Foong testified on Thursday saying he never had such a conversation with anyone from the church.

In other emails between Chew, Wee and another accused person, Tan Ye Peng, Mr Foong's name was also mentioned and he was said to have given them advice on bond transactions.

When asked, Mr Foong said he usually offers a very general comment, for example, how bonds ought to be disclosed in the financial statement.

He denied giving the accused specifics.

The prosecution is arguing that the emails were sent shortly after the first bond subscription agreement between AMAC Capital and Xtron Productions was signed in August 2007.

At that time, AMAC was headed by Chew and was tasked to invest the church's monies, while Xtron was the management company of Ms Ho, who was involved in the Crossover Project.

The Crossover Project sought to reach out to the secular world through Ms Ho's music.

The prosecution is trying to show that the accused were plotting to cover up their plans to channel money into Ms Ho's singing career.

Mr Foong, who is from accounting firm Baker Tilly, also told the court on Thursday that he did not draft the statement he made in a 2003 video.

In that video, the witness declared no church funds was used to promote Ms Ho's career and that all information presented to the church board members was "true and fair".

When questioned by lead prosecutor Mavis Chionh, Mr Foong said the church had prepared the statement and rushed him to record it.

But when pressed for a name, Mr Foong said he could not remember who drafted the statement for him to read and who wanted him to make that video.

In January 2003, then church member Roland Poon alleged that church funds were used to finance Ms Ho's career.

But he later retracted his allegations and made public apologies.

Mr Foong was then roped in to record a video declaring that Mr Poon's allegations were false.

Earlier in the day, Mr Foong also took the court through the auditing and approval processes.

Testifying for a second day, Mr Foong told the court that the church has been a client of his since 1993.

He said church representatives Tan, Wee and either Lam or Chew would seek his opinions on matters like property acquisitions and advance rental payments.

The four, along with CHC founder Kong Hee and Sharon Tan, are accused of misusing S$24 million church funds to boost the music career of Kong's wife, Ms Ho.

The trial continues. - CNA/ec

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Auditor says Serina Wee 'mischaracterised' his advice to church

Published on Sep 13, 2013

An auditor testifying in the City Harvest Church trial said on Friday that certain practices described in emails written by accused Serina Wee (in photo) were "improper", and mischaracterised advice he gave to the church. These include downplaying the close relationship the church had with related companies, for example by leaving out information in minutes of church meetings. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Tessa Wong

An auditor testifying in the City Harvest Church trial said on Friday that certain practices described in emails written by accused Serina Wee were "improper", and mischaracterised advice he gave to the church. These include downplaying the close relationship the church had with related companies, for example by leaving out information in minutes of church meetings.

The prosecution had shown Mr Foong Daw Ching, who has advised church members, several emails that Wee had written to the other five accused listing suggestions Mr Foong purportedly gave to her about the accounting and disclosures of transactions between the church and related firms. One email in 2008 saw her describe "Bro Foong" as saying the church should not minute down everything that was explained about Xtron Productions to members at a extraordinary general meeting "so as not to show too close a relationship or control over (Xtron)".

But Mr Foong denied he had given such advice. "Why would I, in my position, tell someone to do something that looks improper? It definitely did not come from me." He added that Wee had not double-checked with him first about what he had told her before telling church leaders.

The prosecution believes the six accused had illegally funnelled church money to Xtron to fund Ms Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career.

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Auditor was 'fed' statement for video

Mr Foong (above) was said by former church investment manager Chew Eng Han in an e-mail to have "cleared" a decision to leave out key investment information at AGMs. In a video, Mr Foong said it was his "professional opinion" that no church funds were used to promote Ms Ho Yeow Sun's singing career.

Tessa Wong And Feng Zengkun
The Straits Times
Sunday, Sep 15, 2013

SINGAPORE - CITY Harvest Church leaders were in a hurry to refute allegations that they were misusing church funds for Ms Ho Yeow Sun's singing career, it was revealed in court on Thursday.

Shortly after churchgoer Roland Poon made public his worries in January 2003 about how funds were being used, the church commissioned a special audit of its accounts by auditor Foong Daw Ching.

But that was not all.

At a church annual general meeting (AGM) in April that year, it played a video in which Mr Foong declared: "It is my professional opinion that no church funds were ever used in the promotion of Ms Ho's secular singing career."

But on Thursday, the 63-year-old auditor admitted that the video was planned by the church itself and he was merely reading from a script he hardly had time to vet.

"It definitely wasn't me who drafted this statement," he told the court, during the ongoing trial of City Harvest founder Kong Hee and five of his deputies.

They are accused of funnelling millions of dollars of church money to Ms Ho's career and hiding the matter via a series of sham transactions beginning in 2007. The defence argues that the transactions were all above board.

The church also maintains that before 2007, Ms Ho's career was funded by direct donations to the Crossover Project, which was started in 2002 with the aim of using secular music to evangelise.

When repeatedly pressed by the prosecution as to who asked asked him to make the 2003 video statement and who wrote the script, Mr Foong insisted he could not remember, but said it "must be somebody quite senior".

The partner at accounting firm Baker Tilly TFW recalled how he was first asked to appear at the AGM, but he told the church he was not free that day.

City Harvest then dispatched a video crew, armed with a script, to meet Mr Foong at the Church of Singapore, which he attends. The video, he said, was recorded in a "very, very rushed" manner due to his busy schedule.

That was why he made the error of claiming that he was the lead auditor in charge of City Harvest's accounts when it was actually someone else at Baker Tilly.

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Auditor: I changed statement wording

CHANGE: Auditor Foong Daw Ching, 63, modified the statement that CHC wanted him to record.

Koh Hui Theng, Elizabeth Law
The New Paper
Sunday, Sep 15, 2013

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) had approached auditor Foong Daw Ching in 2003 to make a video.

This came after a churchgoer accused CHC of misusing funds for pop singer Ho Yeow Sun's career. While he later retracted the statement and issued apologies in major newspapers, the church called for a special audit of their funds.

After the audit was done, CHC asked Mr Foong, who led the auditing team, to attend their annual general meeting to testify that their books were clean.

When he said he was unavailable, they sent a video crew to him instead.

The crew asked Mr Foong, then managing partner of auditing firm Baker Tilly TFW LLP, to read a prepared statement that "no church funds were ever used in the promotion of Ms Ho Yeow Sun's secular singing career".

But he was uncomfortable with the statement and decided to change the wording, Mr Foong told the court yesterday. The original had asked him to "certify" that no church funds were used during promotion.

Certify

"There's no way that I can 'certify' that no church funds (were used). When I say that (it) means even $100 (was) used (it) is already not appropriate anymore," he told the court. The statement was thus amended to read "in my professional opinion".

Mr Foong however, said he cannot remember who in CHC had contacted him about the video, nor was he able to say who handed him the prepared statement. What he could remember though, was that he had less than 30 minutes to record his part.

Through the years, church leaders had sought Mr Foong's advice on property matters, bond investments and financial transactions that may involve disclosure of prior relationships between the parties.

He had been CHC's "engagement partner" in 1993 for a year before handing the position to another partner. Though he was not the main point person, Mr Foong continued to give general advice because "overall, I'm still a consultant partner to the whole of the CHC group of companies", he told former finance manager Serina Wee in a January 2006 e-mail.

Deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng was also included in the e-mail exchange.

But it turned out that "consultant partner" was actually not an official title.

Said Mr Foong: "It's just something that I think... Just put it in to give (church leaders) comfort that they can still come and talk to me."

Baker Tilly has over 100 churches as clients and "many of them know me personally, so I open myself out to any one of them to come and talk to me", he said.

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/16/2013 15:16 | By Channel NewsAsia

Auditor under scrutiny in CHC trial

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SINGAPORE: As the City Harvest Church trial resumed on Monday, testy exchanges took place between auditor Foong Daw Ching and one of the defence lawyers over whether Mr Foong was trying to distance himself from advice he gave to the six church leaders.

Mr Foong, of accounting firm Baker Tilly, maintained on the stand that he never provided advice on the church's audit report or bond transactions to any of the accused.

He insisted he gave only an "opinion" or "general advice" on whatever he was consulted on.

He was being cross-examined by Mr Edwin Tong - the lawyer acting for church founder Kong Hee - who tried to prove that Mr Foong had a close relationship with the church leaders.

Six church leaders are on trial for allegedly misusing S$24 million of the church's building fund to boost the music career of Ms Sun Ho, Kong's wife.

Mr Tong pressed Mr Foong several times about an article in The Straits Times last month in which the paper said it understood Mr Foong had given advice to the church in his personal capacity.

Mr Foong had said he was "most upset" about some points in the article, and clarified that he had given advice to the church staff both as a friend and as a professional, but he emphasised that he was not the auditor in charge of the church's account at the time.

Email chains brought up last week by the prosecution during the trial sought to show that the church leaders had consulted Mr Foong on certain matters. However, when that was put to him, he said that it was not true and that he had not been kept in the loop.

Mr Tong charged that Mr Foong was not just trying to distance himself from advice he had given to the church, but that in fact, he oversaw the church's audit and would even override the views of the auditor in charge of the church's accounts.

"From 1993 up to as recently as 2010, you have held yourself out, through letters and email advice, to be the go-to person," said Mr Tong.

He also suggested that some evidence that Mr Foong had given - namely that he did not interfere or have control over the audit partners - was untruthful.

Mr Foong denied this, and at one point during cross-examination, even told Mr Tong not to put words in his mouth.

The exchange resulted from an email thread between October and November 2007 between auditors and three church leaders - Serina Wee, Tan Ye Peng and John Lam - over whether transactions regarding the church's building fund monies ought to be disclosed in a management letter for an audit that was to be conducted by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports at that time.

Mr Tong also charged that Mr Foong took a view of the matter that was contrary to the auditor who was handling the church's account, and tried to show that in this instance, Mr Foong's view took precedence.

Later, Mr Tong brought up several previous court cases in which Mr Foong had been called in as an expert witness in areas relating to valuation, accounting, and auditing - which he said contradicted Mr Foong's testimony during the trial that he was not skilled in many areas.

This included having a weak knowledge of financial instruments, not being familiar with technical standards, and that he did not like to read agreements.

"You've been an expert witness in court for the 10 to 15 years... Why would you spend the last four days telling us that you are not skilled in many areas? Let me suggest that you are doing this only because you are keen to distance yourself from advice you gave to City Harvest Church," he said, also pointing to Mr Foong's "fairly sterling CV" and "many appointments and accolades".

Mr Foong continues on the stand on Tuesday. - CNA/fa/ec

 

[Awake]

City Harvest trial: Heated exchange in court over auditor's relationship to church

Published on Sep 16, 2013

Auditor Foong Daw Ching, a partner at accounting firm Baker Tilly TFW. A testy exchange took place in court on Monday morning between defence lawyer Edwin Tong and auditor Foong Daw Ching, as the latter was being cross-examined during the ongoing City Harvest trial. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Tessa Wong

A testy exchange took place in court on Monday morning between defence lawyer Edwin Tong and auditor Foong Daw Ching, as the latter was being cross-examined during the ongoing City Harvest trial.

Mr Tong, who represents the church's founder Kong Hee, tried to show in a series of e-mails that contrary to Mr Foong's earlier claims, he in fact maintained a close relationship with church leaders. He also gave them advice on the use of the church's building funds and how to disclose such transactions to church members, said the lawyer.

Mr Tong also argued that Mr Foong, who used to be the managing partner of the audit firm for City Harvest, had given instructions to the auditor tasked with handling the church's accounts on the disclosure of City Harvest's investments.

"You were trying to distance yourself...to cover up that you personally oversee the church audit and... would override your partner's views," he said.

Mr Foong, looking visibly angry, retorted several times: "I don't agree." At one point, he raised his voice and said, "Hello hello hello... don't put words in my mouth."

He said Mr Tong's assertions were not true and that the emails Mr Tong produced painted "an incomplete picture". Mr Foong maintained that he only gave general advice to City Harvest church leaders, and only the auditor in charge of a client's accounts would have the final say in decisions regarding an audit.

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/17/2013 18:32 | By Channel NewsAsia

Auditor does not recall reading emails about CHC matters

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SINGAPORE: The defence continued to grill auditor Foong Daw Ching as he took the stand again on Tuesday.

Edwin Tong, lawyer for City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee, suggested that some of Mr Foong's evidence was "incredible and unbelievable".

Mr Tong had referred to emails church leaders had sent to Mr Foong in 2008, which he used as examples to show that they were seeking Mr Foong's advice.

These concerned the bond subscription agreement, the relationship between Xtron and the church, as well as whether certain transactions constituted a breach of corporate governance.

The Xtron bonds were purchased by the church in 2007.

Mr Tong also pointed out that Mr Foong -- of accounting firm Baker Tilly -- had a discussion with church leaders relating to the issue of impairment of bonds.

Mr Foong maintained he did not recall whether he read the emails, and that he had given them only "general" advice as he was not the auditor-in-charge of the church's account during that period.

He said the issues were specific and he would not interfere as he expected the audit team in charge to handle it.

This led Mr Tong to question: "One of your biggest church clients is consistently sending you information, making sure that you are aware of the facts, asking you question after question, asking you for your advice, asking you for issues which you have agreed, (including) issues of insolvency which is a serious and significant concern, and each time your answer is "I just don't even recall reading the email". Is that what you are really saying?"

Mr Tong also suggested that Mr Foong's answers were a "convenient excuse".

The six church leaders are standing trial for allegedly misusing S$24 million of the church's building fund to boost the music career of Sun Ho, Kong's wife.

Mr Tong also produced a 2006 email from which Kong had written to Mr Foong regarding concerns about his financial accounts.

In the email, Kong asked Mr Foong and another auditor about Ms Ho's remuneration -- which at the time was S$16,000 a month for her singing, and another S$16,000 for every live concert she performed in.

He asked if Ms Ho's remuneration would still be considered a related-party transaction, since she was paid totally from non-CHC sources.

Ms Ho's career was at the time managed by Xtron, though she did not play the role of director, key executive, or decision maker.

However, City Harvest’s business made up the majority of Xtron's income.

Kong had written: "I am personally very troubled by these matters as I don't wish to bring any potential reproach to the church or its various ministry. If there is simply no way out of this related party dilemma, Sun and I are even willing to resign from the Management Board of CHC, if that would help diffuse the semblance of any conflict of interest on her part."

Mr Tong said this email was an example of Kong seeking advice from Mr Foong regarding a "serious concern".

In reply, Mr Foong said he could not recall if he had given Kong any advice on the matter. - CNA/gn

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/17/2013 20:57 | By Channel NewsAsia

Kong Hee offered to resign from CHC management

SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church (CHC) founder Kong Hee had offered to resign from the church's management board in 2006 as he did not want the church to be affected by any possible conflict of interest.

This was revealed in court on Tuesday during an ongoing trial into Kong and five other church leaders.

The six are standing trial for allegedly misusing S$24 million of the church's building fund to boost the music career of Sun Ho, Kong's wife.

It was also revealed on Tuesday that Sun Ho was receiving a salary from Xtron Productions, which was managing her music career at the time.

And Kong was concerned this could pose a problem because of Xtron's links to the church.

If so, Kong said he and his wife were willing to step down.

As for auditor Foong Daw Ching, defence lawyers continued to grill him on the stand.

Defence lawyers said as a church elder who was well-regarded in his field, it was not unreasonable for CHC leaders to have turned to Mr Foong for advice on financial matters.

And the lawyers argued that those who did, acted on Mr Foong's advice in good faith.

Mr Foong had claimed numerous times that he could not recall reading emails that some of the six accused sent him about matters that included the bond transactions.

Mr Edwin Tong - who is acting for Kong - said he found this "incredible and unbelievable".

Later, Mr N Sreenivasan, who is defending co-accused Tan Ye Peng, accused Mr Foong of being "evasive".

- CNA/ir

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/18/2013 17:37 | By Channel NewsAsia

Ren Ci scandal sparked concerns among City Harvest Church leaders

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SINGAPORE: The Ren Ci scandal sparked concerns among the City Harvest Church leaders about their own investments in companies linked to the church.

Some of them had articulated these concerns in Blackberry messages to auditor Foong Daw Ching in 2008.

The court heard that the church’s founder Kong Hee, one of the six accused, had sent Mr Foong a message saying the church management board was disturbed by the Ren Ci scandal, and asked if some of the church leaders could meet up with him to go over some accounts.

Co-accused Tan Ye Peng had also sent a message to Mr Foong asking for a meet-up regarding the same concerns.

In 2008, Buddhist monk Ming Yi - who was then the chief of Ren Ci Hospital - was charged with misappropriating funds, falsifying accounts and forgery, among other things.

The six church leaders are on trial for the alleged misuse of millions of dollars in church funds to boost the music career of Sun Ho - the wife of Kong.

The defence team's case is that the church leaders had acted on the advice of Mr Foong when it came to various transactions, as he was a respected church elder and well regarded in his field.

Mr Foong had maintained several times that he did not recall reading emails the church leaders said they had sent to him, and that he had only given them "general advice" as he was not the auditor in charge of the church's account.

On Wednesday, Tan Ye Peng's lawyer, N Sreenivasan, continued his cross-examination of Mr Foong.

He produced phone logs and a chain of messages to show that some church leaders had communicated with Mr Foong and that he had replied to some of these messages.

Mr Sreenivasan also referred to a report that Tan had prepared of the church's various transactions that was sent to Mr Foong on 21 July 2008 for him to review - following the messages that were sent.

The report also contained questions about whether the transactions were legally above-board, and if there was any breach of corporate governance.

An email from co-accused Serina Wee sent three days later summarised the points that were discussed at a meeting between some of the church leaders and Mr Foong.

After being presented with the emails and phone messages, Mr Foong said there must have been some discussion. - CNA/ms

 

[lianbeng]

lianbeng replies awake: they are all still asleep!

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/19/2013 14:43 | By Channel NewsAsia

CHC had to be discreet for Crossover Project to be successful: defence lawyer

SINGAPORE: The trial of the six leaders of City Harvest Church continued on Thursday with the defence cross-examining prosecution witness -- accountant Foong Daw Ching.

Defence counsel Kannan Ramesh, who represents one of the accused -- Sharon Tan -- took the court through several documents to make the point that the church had to be discreet about their involvement in the Crossover Project for it to be successful.

The Crossover Project aims to reach out to the secular world through the music of Ms Sun Ho, wife of church founder Kong Hee.

In particular, Mr Ramesh referred to an email from the church's investment manager, Chew Eng Han, to co-accused Serina Wee and John Lam. In it, Chew said he wanted to keep the investments the church is making to as small a circle as possible, for fear of a backlash.

Mr Ramesh pointed out that reaching out to the secular world is a sensitive issue, to which Mr Foong agreed.

Another point Mr Ramesh made was that the auditors hired by the church were monitoring its accounts closely and thoroughly. Mr Foong also agreed with this. - CNA/ac

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/19/2013 20:16 | By Channel NewsAsia

Defence raises query over audit firm’s reversed decision on CHC transactions

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SINGAPORE: The trial of the six leaders of City Harvest Church continued on Thursday with the defence seeking to show someone of influence had reversed an auditing firm's initial decision to be more transparent about the church's transactions.

Defence counsel Kannan Ramesh, who represents one of the accused Sharon Tan, raised documents showing the auditing firm's Risk Committee had originally decided to reflect party-related transactions in the church's financial statement.

This was because the auditors had questions about the church's transactions with companies that were closely linked to it.

But in the end, the committee's suggestions were reversed.

Mr Ramesh asked prosecution witness -- accountant Foong Daw Ching -- if someone of influence had reversed the recommendations.

Mr Foong said he could not comment.

Earlier in the day, Mr Ramesh took the court through several documents to make the point that the church had to be discreet about their involvement in the Crossover Project for it to be successful.

The Crossover Project aimed to reach out to the secular world through the music of Sun Ho, wife of church founder Kong Hee.

In particular, Mr Ramesh referred to an email from the church's investment manager, Chew Eng Han, to co-accused Serina Wee and John Lam.

Chew said in the email he wanted to keep awareness about the investments the church is making to as small a circle as possible for fear of a backlash.

Mr Ramesh said that reaching out to the secular world is a sensitive issue, to which Mr Foong agreed.

Mr Ramesh also pointed out that the auditors hired by the church were monitoring its accounts closely and thoroughly.

Mr Foong agreed with this as well.

The trial continues. - CNA/gn

 

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City Harvest leaders: Nothing wrong about discreetly funding Sun Ho

Published on Sep 19, 2013

Kong Hee, founder of City Harvest Church (CHC), walking hand-in-hand with his wife, singer Ho Yeow Sun, popularly known as Sun Ho, outside the Subordinate Courts on Sept 16, 2013. CHC leaders had done nothing wrong in being discreet about funding Ms Ho's career and auditors had found nothing amiss as well, a court heard on Thursday. -- ST FILE PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

By Tessa Wong And Feng Zengkun

City Harvest Church leaders had done nothing wrong in being discreet about funding Ms Ho Yeow Sun's career and auditors had found nothing amiss as well, a court heard on Thursday.

In fact, it was "common" for churches to discreetly fund evangelism projects with a "secular face" in countries that disapprove of open gospel preaching, the defence for six church leaders said.

That said, all of the church's allegedly illegal financial transactions had been vetted by accounting firm Baker Tilly TFW, which raised no concerns. The firm signed off on the church's 2007 and 2008 financial statements when some of the transactions took place, the defence noted.

Baker Tilly would also have been extra "careful and conservative" in its audits at the time because it had been recently sued by another client for negligence, they added.

 

[Awake]

Auditor had 'intimate knowledge of the deals': City Harvest trial Print Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email

Auditor Foong Daw Ching was said to be someone the church leaders looked up to.

Feng Zengkun
The Straits Times
Friday, Sep 20, 2013

FOR 20 years, auditor Foong Daw Ching was someone the leaders of City Harvest Church looked up to.

Yet, he "broke their hearts" by denying in court this week that he gave guidance the church relied on. This included the church's financial deals, which are at the centre of the trial.

This assertion by Mr N.Sreenivasan - lawyer for deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng - characterised yesterday's proceedings. The defence sought to show that Mr Foong, a partner at accounting firm Baker Tilly TFW, was only trying to save his own skin by disavowing intimate knowledge of the deals. Church members had gone to Mr Foong for advice since he led the City Harvest audit in 1993 when it was a young church, and he had not raised any red flags, the defence claimed.

"They looked up to you as a person with an extremely impressive (resume), as a well-regarded accountant and a church elder," said Mr Sreenivasan. City Harvest founder Kong Hee even solemnised the wedding of Mr Foong's daughter, the court heard.

"My client is in the dock and his life is in a mess. His instruction to me is that if you had told him what was right and what was wrong, he would have followed your advice... You are breaking his heart, the way you are denying things."

Mr Foong, however, hit back: "They know very well they come to me on an ad hoc basis... They are intelligent people. You paint (them) as though they are 21-year-olds."

The 63-year-old added that he had not led the church's audit since 1993 and insisted that he had given only informal, "general" advice to the church members since then. "Whatever (facts) they have given me, I have given them advice and that part of advice they can rely upon. If I probe, it may encroach on the auditing area and there's an audit team which needs to take over."

The defence has been trying to show that Mr Foong knew more about the allegedly suspect financial transactions than he let on. Several of the accused had said in e-mail messages that he "endorsed" or gave suggestions about the deals and disclosure requirements.

He was also sent documents such as a bond agreement contract which the State believes was a sham investment by the accused. The documents included a summary of the church's relationship with various firms that allegedly helped the six church members to misuse church funds.

Confronted with these e-mail messages, Mr Foong mostly insisted that he did not recall reading them. He said yesterday: "I am a very busy man... and I travel quite frequently."

But Kong's lawyer, Mr Edwin Tong, said to him: "I find it incredible that one of your biggest church clients is consistently sending you information, making sure you are aware of the facts, asking you question after question... and each time your answer (in court) is 'I just don't even remember reading the e-mail'."

Before the court adjourned for the day, Mr Foong was asked to produce his appointment diaries or logs from 2007 to 2010. He is expected to do so when he takes the stand again today.

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Background Story

SENIOR Counsel N. Sreenivasan represents one of the six accused, deputy pastor Tan Ye Peng. He was cross-examining auditor Foong Daw Ching who was the church's auditor between 1993 and 1994.

• MR SREENIVASAN: "You were the church's auditor in 1993. Tan Ye Peng was 21 years old in 1993, Kong Hee was in his late 20s, some of the other people in the dock may still have been in school. City Harvest Church was a very young church at that time and the first auditor or elder or senior figure in the Christian community who gave them accounting advice, acted for them, was you. They looked up to you from 1993 onwards as an auditor who was a Christian."

• MR FOONG: "They know very well they come to me on an ad hoc basis, no paper produced, nothing like that. They are intelligent people. You paint (them) as though they are 21-year-olds. They have a whole team of their own advisers and it's not as though I'm the adviser. They are all qualified people and very brilliant people."

• MR SREENIVASAN: "When it's your own skin on the line, you will be careful and make sure you don't get into trouble. But when other people ask you for advice, you don't probe, you give them general advice and they are expected to know on their own that they can't rely on your advice."

• MR FOONG: "I don't think that's fair. Whatever (facts) they have given me, I have given them advice and that part of the advice they can rely upon. If I probe, it may encroach on the auditing area and there's an audit team which needs to take over. The way you asked (makes it sound like) I'm just chin chai (Hokkien for doing things without much thought), don't care."

 

[Awake]

Updated: 09/20/2013 23:06 | By Channel NewsAsia

Second tranche of CHC trial draws to a close

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SINGAPORE: The second tranche of the six City Harvest Church leaders’ trial drew to a close on Friday after the lawyers sped through their questioning of the church's former accountant.

Auditor Foong Daw Ching from accounting firm Baker Tilly took the stand for the eighth day.

When re-examined by prosecutor Mavis Chionh, he testified that the use of the church's building fund to pay for the Crossover Project is not right.

Earlier, defence lawyer Andre Maniam -- who represents Serina Wee, one of the six accused -- had raised an email from church staff Wong Foong Ming.

In that email, Miss Wong said that concerts and overseas travel expenses of singer Sun Ho should be charged to the church instead of Ms Ho's management company which is linked to the church.

This is because Ms Ho, who is the wife of church founder and accused person Kong Hee, is part of the Crossover Project -- which serves the church's mission to reach out to the secular world.

Mr Foong had agreed with Mr Maniam's argument.

However, when given the scenario that the church's building fund is meant for the purchase of church property, and asked to clarify his earlier testimony, Mr Foong said monies from the building fund cannot be used to pay for Crossover Project's expenses.

He added that payment should come from the church's general fund.

In addition, he also clarified on the advice given on bonds.

Using the analogy of a doctor, Ms Chionh asked if a doctor can give complete advice if the patient does not reveal all symptoms. Mr Foong said that from his experience, the doctor would not diagnose other problems.

Previously during cross-examination by the defence, the court heard that the accused would seek advice from Mr Foong on Xtron bonds, including the impairment of those bonds.

Xtron, which was Ms Ho's former management company, has close links to the church.

It is one of the few firms alleged by prosecution to be used by the accused as a financial vehicle to commit "round-tripping" through "sham bond investments".

Referring to various emails exchanged among the accused, the prosecutor then asked the witness if he considered it relevant to be given those information.

In particular, that Xtron was only able to redeem S$10 million of the S$31 million bonds by October 2010, according to one estimate.

To this, Mr Foong said to be given this would be "fair information" and that it was something the accused would have to share with him for him to know.

Previously, during defence counsel Kenneth Tan's questioning, Mr Foong agreed that he advised the accused to draft an investment policy and invest in bonds.

On Friday, Mr Foong clarified that he did not initiate investing church funds in bonds and private company bonds -- and that the accused were the ones who brought it up in the first place.

The court also heard of how Mr Foong agreed that not all investments made by charities, including churches, seek to yield profit.

The defence was arguing that these investments may be made to further the church's mission.

Kong and five of his deputies are facing misuse of church funds allegations.

They are said to have used some S$24 million to finance the music career of Ms Ho.

The third tranche of the trial is to start in mid-January 2014 and expected to last for more than six weeks.

The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case in that tranche, with at least five more witnesses expected to testify. - CNA/ec