Yahoo!
Newsroom – Mon, Aug 26, 2013
China
Wine, starring rapper Wyclef Jean and supermodel Tyson Beckford,
was Sun's attempt to break into the US market.
[UPDATED 29 August 2013 730pm: Adding details of defence
arguments]
Defence lawyers of the six City Harvest Church
leaders on trial for misappropriating millions from church coffers
on Wednesday countered claims made by the prosecution that Xtron, a
music production company, was controlled by church
members.
While prosecutors sought to prove that the accused had channeled
money into buying sham bond investments through Xtron, defence
lawyers produced evidence which showed that they were legitimate
investments to fund the church's Crossover Project.
They also said there was "ample consideration" for Xtron to invest
in the project to convert people to Christianity
via Sun Ho's secular music. Sun Ho is the wife of City Harvest
founder, Pastor Kong Hee.
Defence lawyer Edwin Tong, who represents Kong, also
submitted that due diligence reports of the transactions had been
drafted and signed off by major law firms such as Rajah & Tann,
who did not find anything amiss.
On Tuesday, minutes from a board meeting involving Xtron
Productions, a music production company alleged to have been used
by City Harvest to siphon off church funds, reveal that over S$10
million was spent on an album that was supposed to kickstart Ho
Yeow Sun’s career in the US.
Ho Yeow Sun is the wife of City Harvest founder, Kong Hee, who
along with other senior church leaders, is on trial for
misappropriating S$24 million of church funds to finance
Sun's singing career.
In addition, over S$26 million in church money
was allegedly misappropriated to cover up the original
diversion.
The S$10 million figure came from minutes of an Xtron board
meeting, which was shown in court on Tuesday.
According to the minutes, over US $1.6 million was spent on
production fees for rap music star Wyclef Jean, who collaborated
with Sun on the song, "China
Wine", whose music video cost US$1 million to produce.
Xtron directors also approved an additional $2 million to produce
Ho’s album “in order to get some popular song artistes and singers
from USA be involved in the album”, the minutes showed. The album
was also never released.
Minutes also showed Xtron paid for Sun Ho's travel expenses in
business class as she "had a very busy promotional schedule",
reported The Straits Times.
On Monday, the paper also reported that Sun had received over half
a million dollars in bonuses and advances that were couched as
"personal gifts" by sponsors in doctored documents.
Choong War Kheng, director of Xtron Productions, had earlier
testified that he trusted City Harvest finance manager Serina Wee
to handle Xtron's accounts even though she was not a company
employee.
During his questioning in court, the state prosecutor pointed out that Wee was a City Harvest Church
employee when she was involved in Xtron's discussions to issue the
bonds.
Choong said, "Whether people are under
payroll or not, I make a decision about who I trust. Serina was not
officially Xtron's accountant but she was doing the accounts for
Xtron. I really trusted her."
Xtron is accused of helping City Harvest to misuse church
funds.
Prosecutors also produced emails on Monday that
expressedly stated that Xtron was under the control of City Harvest
-- these emails were between Wee, Tan
and another church leader, Chew Eng Han. Choong's lawyers objected
when he was asked about them as he was not copied in the
emails.
He said, when asked about them, "I don't
regard the statement (about CHC controlling Xtron) to be
correct."
During Monday's session, prosecutors
submitted evidence of emails and meeting minutes prepared by Xtron
employees that City Harvest staff were consulted on business
matters even though they were not on its
payroll.
When asked why a "Mr Suraj", a City Harvest church
employee not working in Xtron, was approving staff bonuses, he
replied that he did not know.
"He represents me," said Choong, who was calm and composed
throughout. "I don't know why he is approving (the bonuses), maybe
it is his opinion."
In another line of questioning, when prosecution asked why
Mr Suraj was asking Serina Wee for approval on policy changes,
Choong replied, "Suraj has been an employee of CHC for a long time.
I trust him more than my Xtron staff."
Another instance where Choong was unable to give a
straight answer was when prosecution questioned him about the
accuracy of meeting minutes.
Despite signing off on each of them, he was unable to state who
wrote the minutes or its agenda.
When asked why Pastor Tan, Kong Hee's deputy, was asked to vet the
meeting minutes before Choong signed off on, Choong replied that he
did not know as well.
Before the case was adjourned back in May, prosecutors alleged the
accused channeled money allotted for the church's building into
buying sham bond investments in church-linked companies so they
could finance Ho's secular music career.
They allegedly falsified church accounts to make it appear the
bonds were redeemed, in a practice the prosecutors called
"round-tripping".
A long queue of over 50 supporters had formed before dawn on Monday
at the Subordinate Courts to show their
support
A City Harvest church member, who declined to be named,
told Yahoo! Singapore he had taken a half day
off to support the pastor together with his fellow church
members.
“We are concerned about the pastor. We came to the hearing
to hear what is being presented in court, so that we do not give
the wrong information to the public. The media can speak what they
want. All of us are here as a family. If something were to happen,
whether it is right or wrong,we will be concerned, naturally.”
Another two members of the public, a pair of
female retirees,who
looked like in their late 50s, came to court as it was a “public
hearing” and the case was “high profile”.
One was just “here to accompany my friend”. The other commented
that the “hearing was quite slow, but (then again) it is normally
slow".
The church, which has a membership of more than 30,000, has
affiliates in neighbouring Malaysia and other countries.
It is known for services that resemble pop concerts and had assets
estimated at more than Sg$100 million in 2009.
The pastor's wife, now in her early 40s, was hoping international
stardom would help spread the church's message, according to
previous reports in the Singapore media.
Last month, Kong Hee was back in the headlines after
a YouTube
video which
went viral showed a Kong Hee sermon in which he claimed that God
had apologised to him for his struggles.
"'Father, Father, why, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me and
thrown me to the dogs?'" he was recorded as saying, after relating
the experience of Jesus Christ on the cross at his crucifixion and
sharing that he identified with that kind of
suffering.
"For the first time in eight months, God, I heard Him cry. And he
said 'My son, Kong, thank you. Thank you for going through this. I
need you to go through this alone, so that you and City Harvest
Church can be the man and the ministry I call it to be. I'm so
sorry, but you need to go through this by yourself, to bring a
change to your generation,” Kong said.
A spokesperson for the church later clarified in
a statement that
"the use of 'I'm so sorry' here is not in the context of an
apology, but a word of comfort".
"It is in no way an apology or an admission of guilt as has been
suggested," the spokesperson said.
"The message God gave (Kong) was that it is necessary for him to
journey through this painful experience because it is a refiner's
fire, meant to prepare him for the work God has in store for him
and the church for the future."
