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-->By Yen
Feng
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<!-- story content : start -->AFTER weeks of silence and dodging
the media, City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee yesterday gave his
first public comments via his blog about the ongoing probe
involving his church.
In a post entitled
Reflections, Mr Kong said he and the church's management board were
helping the police with investigations, and that he and his family
were 'doing well'.
He also thanked
church members for their support.
The 11-paragraph
statement did not add details to the case, which got off to a
dramatic start last month when Commercial Affairs Department
officers raided the church's offices at Suntec City.
'Because we're in
the midst of the investigation, I am unable to provide any details
about the progress besides what already has been released by the
Singapore Police in their statement to the press,' Mr Kong wrote in
his message.
He could not be
reached yesterday for comment.
A church spokesman said that
Mr Kong and his wife were being
represented by law firm Allen &
Gledhill.
Questions
remain.
Weeks after the
raid, it is still not known exactly how many organisations and
individuals are being investigated, or who they are.
What has been made
public is that the investigations have to do with misuse of church
funds and financial transactions involving 'several individuals and
companies, related or connected' to the church.
The police on
Wednesday said the number of persons assisting them with the
inquiry had increased from an initial 17 to more than 20
now.
Known persons so far
comprise Mr Kong, 46; his wife Ho Yeow Sun, 38, better known as Sun
Ho; and the church's 10-member management council.
No one has been
arrested.
Mr Kong, who is also
the church's senior pastor, yesterday described the investigation
as a turning point for the church, which, since its founding in
1989, has grown to become Singapore's largest independent Christian
church, with a congregation of more than 33,000
followers.
Recalling that the
police raid took place only a day after the church had concluded an
international conference featuring more than 25,000 participants,
Mr Kong said on the blog: 'What a difference a day makes... The
page had turned.
'The celebration had
abruptly ended.'
Since the raid, Mr
Kong has stayed largely out of sight.
He made a brief
appearance last week during services at Singapore Expo but did not
address the congregation.
By yesterday
evening, Mr Kong's post had attracted more than 90
responses.
A handful of readers
said he was insincere; the majority, however, expressed gratitude
for the positive influence the church has had on their
lives.
In the last
paragraph of his message, Mr Kong said: 'It has been a glorious 20
years of church building filled with tears and triumph, brokenness
as well as breakthroughs.
'I believe that the
City Harvest story will continue to unfold.'
