City Harvest church founder Kong Hee and 4 others arrested
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Originally posted by fudgester:
Uhh.... sue CAD?
Dang, that's some strong stuff he's smoking.
No, that was sarcasm. Just read the rest of his tweets.
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Is stupid Sun Ho going to be charged?
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What everyone overlooks is the fact that Kong Hee is a protege of Phil Pringle from C3 Sydney. Pringle pulpit pimps continuously and has numerous unethical techniques to rip off the flock. C3 encourages the sheeple to mortgage or sell their houses and give the money to C3. Kong Hee has learnt a lot of fund raising techniques from Pringle.
Kong Hee is arguably Asia's most dangerous man because he has led so many people astray and he gives Christianity a bad name, as does Pringle.
As far as Kong Hee's wife goes she is not even a pastor's toenail. Neither is Kong Hee. Kong hee is a businessman who has seen an oppurtunity to fleece people of their assets and savings.
A guy like him deserves 100% to be in prison.
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im hoping she gets charged though...thats outright breach of trust... the money was used to fund her career... she has to play a part of the responsibility
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Kong Hee Fat U...........some ang pow dole for my Kingdom, please!
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what for 200 supporters outside the court ? support what ?
the wife must be TREMBLING instead of SHAKING & DANCING now !
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Originally posted by Kuali Baba:
No, that was sarcasm. Just read the rest of his tweets.
Phew. There's hope for mankind after all.
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City Harvest's founder Kong Hee, four others charged
SINGAPORE: Five senior members of City Harvest Church (CHC), including its founder Kong Hee, was charged in court on Wednesday with misappropriating church funds.
The prosecution is levelling three charges against the five -- involving over S$50 million in total.
This is more than the S$23 million earlier announced by the Commissioner of Charities.
The first charge centres on purported bond investments made by the church in two companies, Xtron Productions and PT The First National Glassware.
These bond investments, which the prosecution said are "sham transactions", were allegedly devised to conceal the diversion of some S$24 million from the church's Building Fund to fund Ho Yeow Sun's music career. Ho is Kong Hee's wife.
Four people are liable for the first set of charges - Kong Hee, Tan Ye Peng, Lam Leng Hung and Chew Eng Han.
The second charge relates to a series of transactions that some of the accused had created to clear the purported bond investments off the church's accounts.
They allegedly misappropriated a further S$26.6 million from the church's funds.
It's alleged that the money was circulated through a complicated series of transactions to create the false appearance that the purported sham bond investments had been redeemed.
For these charges, which have been termed as "round-tripping", three people are liable - Tan Ye Peng, Chew Eng Han and Tan Shao Yuen Sharon.
The third charge relates to the falsification of church's accounts to cover their tracks.
It's alleged that Tan Ye Peng, Chew Eng Han and Tan Shao Yuen Sharon doctored the church's books to give the false appearance that the bond investments had been redeemed.
In all, pastor and church founder Kong Hee faces three charges; senior pastor Tan Ye Peng faces 10 charges; finance manager Tan Shao Yuen Sharon faces seven charges; senior member Chew Eng Han faces 10 charges; and former secretary of the church's management board Lam Leng Hung faces three charges.
All five church members stood solemnly together in the dock when the charges were read to them.
The five have each posted bail of S$500,000 and have had their passports impounded.
Earlier in the morning, a media scrum broke out when Kong Hee and his wife, local songstress Sun Ho, arrived outside the Subordinate Courts.
Supporters belonging to City Harvest Church were also gathered outside the court.
Some were there as early as 7.30am. Their numbers swelled to over a hundred within an hour.
- CNA/ck -
Supporters of City Harvest Church gather outside court
SINGAPORE: Pastor Kong Hee and his wife Ho Yeow Sun arrived at the Subordinate Courts just before 9am on Wednesday.
Kong Hee and four other members of City Harvest Church (CHC) are expected to be charged on Wednesday for alleged criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts of the church.
The other four members are Tan Ye Peng, Lam Leng Hung, Chew Eng Han and Sharon Tan.
More than a hundred supporters of City Harvest Church gathered outside the courts as early as 8.30am.
Most remained silent when approached by reporters and responded with "no comments".
One individual, who claims he is an employee of the church, said he will continue to support Pastor Kong Hee as he has known him for many years.
- CNA/ck -
City Harvest Church says activities to continue
SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church will continue with its activities despite the arrests of some of its church leaders over alleged misuse of funds.
A statement on City Harvest Church's website says operations and group meetings will carry on, including all weekend services at Singapore Expo and Jurong West.
The statement was issued by Aries Zulkarnain, the church's Executive Pastor.
It told members that church leaders, including Kong Hee, Tan Ye Peng, John Lam, Chew Eng Han and Sharon Tan were informed to attend court.
The statement said no case is being brought against the church.
It added that the church's Advisory Committee will continue to provide "spiritual leadership".
The committee is made up of the founder of Sydney's Christian City Church, Dr Phil Pringle, and founder of New York's Christian Cultural Centre, Dr A.R. Bernard.
The statement said both pastors were appointed City Harvest Church's advisory senior pastors.
It also said that the Church Management Board continues to provide guidance on the running of the church.
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every single one of them has 500k each for bail money?
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When these 200 sillyporean-supporter-sheep going to learn that they have been conned, cheated, bluffed, robbed, sodomised, waylaid, swindled of their wretched, tiny little savings to support a cheat monster and ever vain aging harlot?
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Originally posted by dragg:
every single one of them has 500k each for bail money?
only about 0.5% of wat they misappropriated -
Hallelujah
Praise the Lord of the court
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IRONIC Lyrics to 'Fancy Free' song by Sun Ho
Woke up feeling like a millionaire,
Walking down the street with the wind in my hair,
All the boys stare, say I look so good,
No, I'm not cocky but I knew that they would,Cause everywhere I go my life is a party,
I don't have a worry, the sun keeps on shining on me,
Look how it's shining on me, (Oh),
You can't tell me nothing, look out cause I'm coming,
The street is my runway and everyone's looking at me,
All of their eyes are on me, (All of their eyes are on me)
And I....I feel so beautiful, (I'm lovely),
Can't no one tell me no (I'm fancy free),
My life's a circus show (It's lovely),
No matter where I go (I'm fancy free),Dee, dee, dee, dee,
What kind of Pastor's wife prances and frolics around in skimpy bikinis with half naked Negro muscular gentlemen in music videos???? GREED is one of the 7 deadly sins...
50 million dollars and her career as a sexy pop singer is, to be brutally frank - "cannot make it".
MONEY Cannot buy Talent & Beauty both of which Sun HO sadly lacks...
C'est le monde et c'est la vie...
GOD wil give us justice! They could have built schools and hospitals and scholarships to the needy with that S$50 million but they did not! Avaricious swindling creepos!Is the sun shining on Kong Hee and Sun Ho now???
God and/or Karma and/or Allah and/or Tua Pek Kong and/or Fate and/or Destiny and/or Kismet, etc. will give us common people Justice!
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just asking.. the money was used for his wife?
i didn't know stables cost that much!
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i cant believe there's still so much ppl who are still so blind.
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Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
i cant believe there's still so much ppl who are still so blind.
you just need to see the US and other places where people are selling everything they own to give to some "mega-churches" preaching some bullshit heresy which they call "Prosperity Gospel" which has absolutely nothing to do with the Christian faith...
these assholes just detract and demean the real good works done by the true faithful
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God and/or Karma and/or Allah and/or Tua Pek Kong and/or Fate and/or Destiny and/or Kismet, etc. will give us common people Justice!
Where is my favourite, mischievous Angel!
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Originally posted by [imdestinyz]:
i cant believe there's still so much ppl who are still so blind.
brain washed already mah....
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Who is Ho Yeow Sun? Who is the woman behind beleaguered City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee, now at the centre of the most shocking probe into a religious organization in Singapore? Ho Yeow Sun, who now styles herself Sun Ho, is no stranger to controversy or the spotlight. She is expected to come even under more scrutiny after her husband and four other key ministry members were reportedly arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly using church funds to funnel S$23 million into promoting her music and albums. Since first bursting onto the scene in 2003 as Kong Hee’s Mando-pop singing wife, Ho has been praised and slammed in equal parts by a public shocked by her skimpy dressing and blatant use of her husband’s church as a platform to promote her music albums. The Anglican High and Victoria Junior College alumnus had previously stayed under the radar as part of CHC’s creative team until she resigned in 2003 to pursue her dreams of pop-stardom. Soon she started performing in flamboyant and expensive costumes on stage, sparking an uproar in the city-state. When news leaked in 2005 that she had once been a victim of sexual abuse, the public wasted no time in slamming the information as part of her strategy to promote her new album “Embrace� at that time. Coverage of her album’s successes was limited and muted, compared to the likes of other home-grown talent like Stefanie Sun. She tried to defend herself and told Channel NewsAsia around then that she hoped that Singaporeans could “give me a chance�. CHC had also began to prosper on donations from members who were encouraged to set aside a tenth of of their income to CHC every month. Last year, CHC moved to its new home in Suntec though the church did shelve more ambitious plans to build a 12,000 seater auditorium at the site after the Urban Redevelopment Authority released guidelines restricting the use of commercial buildings for religious purposes. Initial plans for the Church to pay S$310 million to become a co-owner of Suntec sparked widespread debate when it was announced in March last year. Ho’s husband, Kong, started to refer to himself as a “businessman� and together with his wife, set up Skin Couture, a luxury fashion apparel business in 2005. When the five successive albums she released between 2002-2007 hit double or triple platinum status, rumours of her “staged� popularity started to fly. One church member reportedly accused Kong of using CHC funds to fuel Ho’s music career, but the allegation was later retracted. In the wake of the accusations, Ho abruptly announced that she would be “looking overseas� to further her career, moving to Los Angeles, Hollywood with her young son, Dayan Kong. The allegations were investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department in 2010, leading to the reported arrests Tuesday of her husband and four other key ministry members for alleged criminal breach of trust and falsifying church accounts. But what was Ho up to in those three years she upped and moved to LA? According to media reports, she was living the lavish lifestyle of a bona fide Hollywood celebrity. It was reported by The New Paper in 2010 that Ho was renting a S$7.7 million estate in Hollywood Hills with her son, an assistant, a nanny, and her relatives. The 29,000 sq ft Mediterranean style building boasted four structures, including accommodation for a butler, nanny, and maid. It also had a swimming pool and space for 11 cars, the tabloid said. Famous neighbours in the area were the likes of Nicky Hilton, Amercia Ferrera, and singer Leona Lewis. When Ho wasn’t relaxing in her multi-million dollar home, she hobnobbed with music A-listers like Wyclef Jean, who produced her 2007 album, “China Wine� and whom, according to Ho, she is so close to that her son calls him “Uncle Clef�. According to her website, in 2008, Ho donated 500 tents to victims of the Sichuan earthquake and released a single, “Eternal Blossom�, which was broadcast over radio stations there. A single “Kill Bill�, which she released the same year with rapper Lady Saw, saw Ho calling herself a “Geisha� and gyrating around household appliances wearing only revealing kimono-styled lingerie and singing about killing her fictional husband. Ho also became the first Asian pop singer to be invited to the MTV Europe Awards when she attended it in 2007, and subsequently also turned up for the Grammys in 2010. Things were not looking so good for Kong back in Singapore, who was in the news again, this time because he and other members of CHC were part of a CAD probe into allegations of the misuse of funds and cooking the church’s account books. Ho herself was placed under scrutiny when she was asked to return to assist in investigations in 2010 and reportedly grilled for eight hours by the police. Now, even more questions on Kong and Ho will likely be raised. from yahoo
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Those CHC people outside the court can consider illegal gathering or not?
Edit: NVM..they all went in to listen...hope they wake up after that
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Church members surprised but keep faith with leader
BY ESTHER TEO, DARYL CHIN,
NG KAI LING AND
TOH YONG CHUANSOME were surprised, others saw it coming. Mostly, they said they would stand by their pastor and church - at least for now - even if they were disappointed by the turn of events.
The Straits Times approached 25 parishioners of City Harvest Church yesterday and about half did not want to be interviewed, saying they wanted more information before making a judgment.
Of those who did speak, the overwhelming sentiment was that they still had faith in Pastor Kong Hee and the church.
Pharmacist Liu Yuan Tai, 28, said the congregation had been "expecting something" about the probe and so were not totally surprised. "But most of us are supportive of Pastor Kong, especially from what we know of him. We trust his integrity. Until more details of the case come out, we don't want to rush into any judgment yet. He might be vindicated," he said.
Mother of two Carol Soh, 41, said 'I believe in my leaders... even though there might be some things happening to our leaders, we learn from it, and we want to move forward in the same direction'.
Many said they supported the church's vision of reaching out to the secular world through the music of Mr Kong's wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun, popularly known as Sun Ho.
A businessman who wanted to be known only as Mr Oh, 37, said The Crossover Project "started with good intentions to reach out."
He added: "I am still supportive as we've seen the fruits of the project, with thousands benefiting both here and overseas. As a church, I would like us to move forward and go on."
The parishioners said they were aware that their tithe money - typically 10 per cent of their income - was helping Ms Ho propel her music career, but added they had not been told how much was being used for this.
That some $23 million was used to fund her career did not rattle their faith, they said. While the amount was big, Ms Ho did relatively well in the American music scene, they pointed out.
Members said there had not been any sign that anything was amiss in recent weeks. Pastor Kong had led the service on Sunday with Ms Ho in attendance.
Support for the pastor poured in online after the news broke, with many taking to Twitter and Facebook to express this. Many of those interviewed saw the episode as an opportunity for the church to learn and grow as a family.
Entrepreneur Elim Chew, 45, said: "City Harvest has been my family for 21 years and a family comes together in challenging times... The church has a capable team that will be able to lead the church through this time."
The church's executive pastor Aries Zulkarnian, 39, is understood to be at the helm. A founding member, he was left to lead the church after the departure of executive pastor Derek Dunn last December.
In a statement posted on the church's website at about 8pm, Mr Zulkarnian did not refer to the arrests of the five members. He just said they had been "informed to attend court tomorrow", and that "there is no case that is being brought against the Church".
He said the church's advisory committee, comprising Dr Phil Pringle, founder of Christian City Church in Sydney, and Dr A.R. Bernard, founder of Christian Cultural Centre in New York, will continue to provide "spiritual leadership". "Church operations and cell group meetings will continue as usual, including all weekend services at Singapore Expo and Jurong West," he said.
A spokesman said Mr Zulkarnain and the management board will take over the management and daily running of the church.
It is understood that the church's original 10-member management board is now down to seven, following the suspensions of Pastor Kong Hee, Mr Tan Ye Peng and Mr John Lam Leng Hung, who were arrested yesterday.
The Straits Times understands that Dr Pringle will arrive today and will preach this weekend.
Top of the news, The Straits Times, Wednesday, June 27 2012, Pg A7
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do these people who say they still have faith that he is not guilty think the authorities took 2 yrs to investigate and arrested him without any concrete evidence of crime? i am shocked they believe so much in their great leader's integrity over our judicial system. lets see who turns up to be the fool.
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Originally posted by dragg:
do these people who say they still have faith that he is not guilty think the authorities took 2 yrs to investigate and arrested him without any concrete evidence of crime?
i am shocked they believe so much in their great leader’s integrity over our judicial system.
lets see who turns up to be the fool.
Can I say.......
Maybe, it's because seeing the light is harder than living in darkness....
Talking about 'religious' people.......not religion itself. These are two different things to me.