Beleaguered City Harvest Church pastor Kong Hee
insisted he had integrity as he spoke to a full house at Singapore
Expo Hall 1 early Saturday evening.
In the first English-language service of the church since he and
four key ministry members were charged with criminal breach of
trust allegedly to support the music career of his wife Sun Ho,
Kong said, "I maintain my integrity."
With his wife up on stage with him, he added, "There were times
when Sun and I just didn't know what to do." He and his wife also
hugged on stage.
The expo hall was packed with members of the congregation and
two rooms overflowed with supporters for about a total of 5,000
people. There were many banners saying "I love Pastor Kong".
Some of the faithful also gave testimonies on the church's
"Crossover Project" started in 2002 supposedly as a way to use Ho's
secular music to connect with people and reach out to
non-Christians.
One of Ho's backup dancers talked about how the pastor's wife, who
tried to become a pop star in the U.S., brought Christ to her and
the world through Ho's song "China Wine".
CHC has thrown its weight behind its founder Kong Hee and the four
other key members who were charged Wednesday over alleged misuse of
the charity’s funds.
In a statement released by executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain on
Thursday evening, the church stated that it is standing by the five
individuals.
"The people currently in the news are our pastors and trusted
staff and leaders who have always put God and CHC first," he said.
"As a church we stand with them and I believe fully in their
integrity."
The statement also said that Kong, 47, and his deputy pastor Tan Ye
Peng, 39, who both face charges of criminal breach of trust, will
continue preaching at the megachurch.
Addressing the current charges that stand against the five accused
leaders, Zulkarnain maintained that the church did not lose any
money in the transactions detailed in the charges, which list two
separate amounts of S$24 million and a further S$26.6
million.
"The S$24 million, which went into investment bonds, was returned
to the church in full, with interest... The church did not lose any
funds in the relevant transactions, and no personal profit was
gained by the individuals concerned," he said. In response to the
church’s statement, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said, “We
wish to reiterate that as criminal charges are now before the court
and will be subject to adjudication by the court; and that as such,
neither the prosecution nor any other party should comment on
issues which will be subject to adjudication and on which evidence
will be led in court.”
-- Yahoo!
