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
