THE sickness in Us democracy liEs lEss wiTH THE disEngagEd THan wiTH modEl ciTizEns wHorE all politics

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KlOSE, PIRlO bRuSh Off tAlK Of NERvES

WIN tvS, tAblEtS IN OuR PIcK thE WINNING tEAm cONtESt

thUrsday, 28 JUne 2012

MICA (P) 093/06/2012

A crowd turned up at the Subordinate Courts where Kong Hee (centre, in white, seen here with his wife Sun Ho) and four others were charged yesterday. PHoTo ooi Boon KEong

in the coUrts

33 charges over misuse of S$24m of church funds

Sham transactions allegedly used to conceal money spent on Sun Hos pop career
TEo XuanwEi

xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg
S ING A PORE T here were chaotic scenes outside the Subordinate Courts yesterday as followers of City Harvest Church (CHC) thrust themselves between the media and beleaguered senior members of the church who are facing allegations of financial impropriety. On the morning when five people from one of Singapores biggest churches, including its charismatic founder Kong Hee, were due in court to face charges of misuse of funds, journalists, as well as CHC sup-

porters, showed up from as early as 7.30am. When the five who are facing charges of criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts turned up one by one, their supporter-entourage formed rings around them in an attempt to shield them from the lenses of photojournalists. Auxiliary police officers had to step in several times in the ensuing mayhem; most intense when Kong arrived with his celebrity wife Sun Ho. The mood was decidedly more restrained in the courtroom: Those in the dock wore solemn expressions and hardly exchanged words, while their more than 150 supporters, many of whom were clad in all-black outfits, packed the public gallery behind them. After the 15-minute court session ended, there was a repeat of the earlier scenes outside the courts as jour-

nalists scrambled to catch up with the leaving CHC members.

ShAm tRANSActIONS tO cONcEAl mONEy

A day after the Commissioner of Charities released its inquiry findings that detailed how funds were channelled out of CHC on the quiet to finance the secular music career of Ms Ho, the court heard yesterday accusations of how the churchs funds were allegedly pilfered. Prosecutors charged that S$24 million was taken from CHCs coffers for investment in the bonds of two companies. But these were sham transactions to conceal the money that went to Ms Hos music career, which was not an authorised purpose of the Churchs Building Fund, they added.
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