City Harvest Church ex-finance chief charged

SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church's (CHC) ex-finance chief Serina Wee, 35, was charged this morning, making her the sixth person to face criminal charges over the alleged siphoning of church funds.

The Straits Times reported that Wee faces six charges of criminal breach of trust and four for falsifying accounts.

Her bail has been set at $500,000.

The other five charged so far are founding pastor Kong Hee, 47; church management board member John Lam Leng Hung, 44; Kong's deputy Tan Ye Peng, 39; church finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, 36; and investment manager Chew Eng Han, 52.

Prosecutors believe that at least $23 million was invested in alleged sham transactions to fund the pop music career of Kong's wife, Sun Ho.

The funds were said to have been put into a $13 million bond investment with Xtron Productions, while $11 million was allegedly put into another company called PT The First National Glassware.

It is believed that some of the accused also conspired to misappropriate another $26.6 million of church funds so that it would seem like the alleged sham bond investments were redeemed. This is called 'round-tripping'.

Kong arrived at the Subordinate Court at 8.55am this morning for a second mention of the high-profile case, which first came under scrutiny in early 2010, when the Commissioner of Charities (COC) received complaints alleging the misuse of the charity's funds.

The five have not pleaded guilty. The offence of criminal breach of trust carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, and/or a fine. For the charge of falsifying accounts, the accused may be punishable with a life sentence, or jail of up to 20 years and a fine.

Christian concert cancelled due to City Harvest woes

One of Singapore's biggest annual Christian concerts has been cancelled due to the current woes of the leaders of City Harvest Church (CHC).

Festival of Praise, which brings together members of more than 30 churches in Singapore, is said to be one of the most important events of the local Christian calendar.

Its snazzy shows with overseas performers are usually well-attended, said The Straits Times in its report.

In an open letter on its Facebook page, Canon James Wong, who is the founder and president of Festival of Praise Fellowship, announced the cancellation of the concert which is in its 26th year.
He said: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Committee announces that Festival of Praise 2012 has been canceled."

The concert, which is usually held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, was supposed to be staged at City Harvest's auditorium at Suntec Singapore as its usual venue was unavailable.

Mr Wong said that apart from the venue, CHC had also volunteered to provide manpower in terms of hospitality, ushering and security matters relating to the Festival.

CHC's Kong Hee is the Executive Director of the Festival of Praise, as he has been for the last few years.

Said Mr Wong: "However, as you might know, Rev. Kong and City Harvest Church are currently undergoing a challenging period. In view of this situation, the Committee has decided not to go ahead with this year's Festival."

The paper reported that news of the cancellation came as a shock to some, who have been attending the event regularly.

In response to some comments on their Facebook page, festival organisers said: "It is not just about Rev Kong. His staff and members are heavily involved in this year's FOP. For the best interest of the church members, the Committee has decided to cancel for this year."

The Straits Times reported that efforts to reach the festival organisers, City Harvest Church and Canon Wong were unsuccessful.

Pastor is target of watchdog group

Left: CHC executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain. Right: Sydney-based Reverend Phil Pringle has always felt a great affinity with City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun.

NEW people have come on board City Harvest Church (CHC) after several of its leaders were suspended from their posts by the Commissioner of Charities (COC) on Tuesday.

On the same day that founder Kong Hee and four others were charged with misusing over $50 million of church funds, CHC appointed Reverend Phil Pringle and Rev A.R. Bernard as advisory senior pastors to continue providing spiritual leadership.

"Pastor Kong is still our senior pastor," executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain said on Thursday in a statement.

Rev Pringle is the founder and senior minister of Christian City Church in Sydney, Australia.

Now in Singapore to support CHC, Rev Pringle is himself the target of a self-appointed Christian watchdog group, C3 Church Watch.

The blog said it was "designed to watch and monitor C3 Church and its pastors, specifically Phil Pringle."

It has raised questions about the New Zealand-born pastor's religious credentials and teachings.

Rev Pringle moved to Australia in 1980 with his wife, Chris, to start Christian City Church in Sydney.

The movement has over 300 congregations globally, a far cry from the 13 people in the first service.

His Facebook biography said: "Our 2020 Vision is to plant and grow 1,000 churches and we're ontarget to meet this."

Local news reports first mentioned Rev Pringle in 2010, when Kong, 47, was called to help the police who were investigating the alleged misuse of church funds then. He had met the Kongs during their honeymoon.

"From the start, I always felt a great affinity with Kong and Sun (Ms Ho Yeow Sun)," he told CHC's online portal, City News last year.

"There are some relationships that God joins together, and you've got to recognise, respect and nurture those relationships, no matter what."

Meanwhile, Panama-born Rev Bernard, 58, enjoys a high profile in the US. He's the founder and CEO of Christian Cultural Centre in New York, which has over 36,000 members.

The New York Times profiled him in a May report on the power players in the city, calling him "an adept political force... a preacher who would rather guide public policy behind the scenes than shout about it in front of the cameras".

In 2006, while in Singapore, Rev Bernard told CHC's Harvest Times newsletter how he had worked with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to draw up a list of potential candidates to lead the council for human rights, the ageing and immigration.

'Inaccurate'

On Thursday, CHC issued a statement to say that it was inaccurate to say that "the church has been cheated of $50 million".

When asked yesterday how the church leadership intended to correct the "inaccurate" allegations, CHC declined to comment.

A spokesman told The New Paper: "As the matter is now before the court, we are unable to provide any comment for your questions about the case."

The prosecution's case is that $24 million was used to fund the Crossover Project.

The Business Times yesterday reported that, under the Crossover Project, more than 80 concerts were held between 2002and 2009 and drew a million people. The church estimated that 390,000 of these people responded at these concerts.

Rev Pringle called the project the missions part, something that is "a core tenet of faith for CHC".

By 2010, the church had launched 96 humanitarian projects globally as a result of the Crossover Project, though these are separate from the project itself, he said.