The Acting Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports told Parliament on Monday that the investigation was not sparked by the governance review the Commissioner of Charities (COC) undertook in 2008 of City Harvest Church and six other large charities.
In response to a question about why the the Commissioner of Charities' governance review did not uncover the lack of compliance with regulations and the code of governance, Mr Chan said signs of mismanagement or fraud cannot always be detected in a governance review. He added that the COC makes use of other sources of information such as feedback, complaints or whistle-blowing to determine whether to launch an investigation or formal inquiry into a charity.
Five people including founder Kong Hee were arrested and charged with conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars. The Commissioner of Charities also suspended eight board members or agents of the church.
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