Ex-finance chief of City Harvest listed as secretary of more than 50 companies

Serina Wee Gek Yin, the sixth person to be charged in the City Harvest Church misappropriation of funds case, was the church's former finance director.

The Straits Times reported that she is also listed by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority as the secretary of more than 50 companies associated with the church and its leaders. These companies include Skin Couture, Ed Hardy and Xtron Productions.

Xtron Productions is the company that manages pastor Kong Hee's wife Ho Yeow Sun's music career.

Wee, along with five other church members including Kong, are suspected of being involved in transferring $13 million from the church to Xtron Productions via supposed bond investments.

Yesterday at court, the accused faced a total of 10 charges - six counts for criminal breach of trust and four for falsification of accounts.

The 36-year-old mother of three had just given birth to a baby boy last month and lives in a three-storey house in Upper East Coast.

Church members revealed that the she was an active member of the church for 10 years and managed the church's finances under her portfolio.

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.

I maintain my integrity: Kong

SINGAPORE - "I do maintain my integrity".

These were the words of City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee when he addressed his congregation on Saturday.

It was his first service since Kong and four senior church members were arrested last week and charged with conspiring to cheat the church of millions of dollars. The money allegedly went into financing his wife's, pop singer Ho Yeow Sun, music career.

Dressed in a dark suit, Kong was greeted to applause and a standing ovation from an 8-000 strong crowd when he went on stage yesterday, reported The Straits Times.

The paper quoted Kong as saying, "I also know that you are all here tonight to hear something from me".

"As you know, the past few days have been very challenging for me, my family and my team, and many allegations have been made in the media.

"Obviously, as this is an ongoing case, I cannot comment on the details, but please know that there are always two sides to every story. I look forward to the day when I can tell you my side of the story in court," he said.

Seven minutes into his sermon about a woman who had worshipped Jesus humbly, honestly and whole-heartedly, Kong stopped and told his congregation, "Yes, I do maintain my integrity".

This was met with a second standing ovation and cheers.

Kong then asked his 42-year-old wife to lead the congregation in singing worship songs. During the singing session, the others who were charged - deputy pastor Tan Ye Peng, 39, finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen, 36, investment manager Chew Eng Han, 52, and church management board member John Lam Leng Hung, 44, - went on stage and exchanged hugs with Kong and Ms Ho.

How far can money get you in the music industry?

SINGAPORE - Made my wish to be a superstar, sings Ms Ho Yeow Sun in her English single, Fancy Free.

Ten years ago, Ms Ho, 42, who goes by the stage name Sun Ho, embarked on her secular music career as part of the Crossover Project to reach out to non-Christians.

Now, her music career is part of the focus in the investigations against individuals from the City Harvest Church.

The Commissioner of Charities had found financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the church's funds which were allegedly used with the purported intention of bankrolling Ms Ho's career.

On Wednesday, her husband Kong Hee and four church office-bearers were charged in court with the alleged misuse of the funds.

Notwithstanding the case before the courts, can someone buy his or her way to stardom? And how far can money get you in the music industry?

Industry insiders here and in the US told The New Paper that while money is important in gaining a foothold, talent will be the decisive factor in carving out a successful long-term career.

Money helps, but...

Mr Ngiam Kwang Hwa, managing director of Mandarin music label Rock Records, said: "Money can definitely bring you in, but money can't sustain you. You won't go far if you don't have talent.

"I don't believe that you can groom anyone without any star quality or talent... It depends on what you can offer to the consumer to sustain your music career."

American Robert A. Case, a music career consultant who owns two music publishing companies, said: "I know of people who have millions and millions of dollars, who throw money in as entertainers. And they've failed."

Asked how much it would cost to break into the US market, Mr Gingio Muehlbauer, founder of international music consultancy MC-Input.com, said that in the pop music scene, it would cost close to US$3 million (S$3.8 million) for the full works, from producing an album to marketing the singer.

Then, there are also the costs of collaborating with top names in the industry to draw more eyeballs and gain recognition.

Mr Jerry Lembo, president of Jerry Lembo Entertainment Group, said that most notable producers are represented by an agent or manager, and their time, availability and fees would be negotiated by them.

The costs of hiring these producers, he added, would most likely be included in the record label's recording budget.

Mr Muehlbauer said that hiring a top artiste, producer or musicians can cost anything from US$10,000 up to "hundreds of thousands", depending on how well-known they are.

And there are additional costs if you want a collaborating artiste to appear on the video or perform as a guest in concerts, he added.

Besides having talent and financial backing, success in the music industry also often depends on who you know and the relationships you build.

Mr Peng Chi Sheng, a local musician and director of Intune Music School, said: "One of the most important things is who you know.

"Just a call from the right person and you could get linked up to other people."

Mr Muehlbauer said that attending major conferences or events such as the Grammy Awards and big private parties is a great way to get noticed.

He added: "You can pay to get into some of these events. But most of them are by invitation only, so it always comes down to who you know."

Mr Case had this piece of advice for foreign artists who want to break into the US market.

"It doesn't matter if you are from a foreign country. The key to success is to be successful in your own country first," he said.

"Create a buzz in own country or region first, then other countries will take you seriously."