City Harvest's founder Kong Hee & 4 others arrested/charged

[LOLMum]

Don’t think channel u 11pm mentioned anything about Chc tonite…old news soon.

[phtthp]

28 June 2012, Asia One News report


a)
He dared to question City Harvest

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120628-356025.html

b)
flashback to past history (10 years ago), 2003 ...
Uncomfortable With Church Leaders' Actions

contents of the detailed apology letter from Mr Roland Poon in Jan 24, 2003 edition of The Straits Times.\"

it was reported that:-
\"He was uncomfortable with the way the leaders would use sermon and worship time to promote Ho Yeow Sun's songs.

A family friend, talking about Mr Roland Poon, who in 2003 questioned the use of church money to fund Ho Yeow Sun's music career.\"

Almost 10 years ago, Mr Roland Poon dared to ask whether City Harvest Church was using church funds to fund Ho Yeow Sun's music career.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_815932.html

c)
From $127k HDB flat to $9.3m Sentosa Cove penthouse

How did the Kongs get from a $127,000 HDB flat to a $9.3 million Sentosa Cove penthouse ?
(can see close up pictures of her Hollywood rented apartment, at $28,000 per month)

It was reported that :-
- The 487-sq m Ocean Drive apartment was bought in 2007 for $9.3 million.

- Indonesian Wahju Hanafi is registered as the joint owner of the Sentosa Cove penthouse (when you zoom into that picture of the penthouse)

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Property/Story/A1Story20120627-355755.html


d) 28 June 2012, My Paper

A SHOCKING revelation !

At yesterday's court hearing, deputy public prosecutor Christopher Ong read out a laundry list of misappropriated funds that added up to a staggering $50.6 million.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120628-355832.html

e)
More About the Case

http://www.asiaone.com/static/multimedia/gallery/120627_chc/

f)

City Harvest Church became a registered charity in 1993.
As of end-2009, its congregation numbered about 33,000 people.

Based on its financial statements for the financial year ended Oct 31, 2009, its income amounted to about $72 million, while expenses amounted to about $48 million.
Its net assets are estimated to be worth $103 million.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120627-355603.html

g)
Who is City Harvest's Wahju Hanafi?

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120628-356038.html

[DesertWind]

blessed777:

What is prosperity gospel :


http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/Grady_Hagan_ProsperitY.ASPX

Brother Hagin’s exhortations about financial integrity, quoted of Plans, Purposes, & Pursuits (Copyright 1988):

Never put money first! The first time the Lord appeared to me, He told me, “Be careful about money. Many upon whom I’ve placed my Spirit and called to the ministry have become money-minded, and have lost the anointing.” We don’t want to become money-minded and lose the anointing of God on our lives! (page 13)

quote from The Midas Touch:

During my more than sixty-five years of ministry, I have often dealt with the issue of prosperity for believers, insistently emphasizing a balanced, scriptural approach. I have observed many teachings and practices that have both helped and hindered the Body of Christ. I have seen some faith men of God stay the course, and move accurately with the truth of the Word and the Spirit, resulting in great blessing for a host of believers. Unfortunately, I have also seen many others become side-tracked by extremism, ultimately shipwrecking their ministries and hurting and disillusioning many people in the process. (excerpt taken from the Introduction, page xiii, subsection Finding Balance Between Extremes)

_

The Midas Touch :

http://www.ekklesia.lt/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Kenneth-E-Hagin-The-Midas-Touch.pdf

Thanks for this, blessed777,

Kenneth E. Hagin is my favourite author and I read his books extensively. I have read both the above books mentioned and it is a timely reminder of the power of money and the frailty of man.

[sacredmusicals]

Dream, if you don’t mind me saying, I think you owe it to Roland poon to at least help clear his name. I know doing the right thing is not easy, but do you really want to carry this burden for the rest of your life?

[rains]

sacredmusicals:

Dream, if you don't mind me saying, I think you owe it to Roland poon to at least help clear his name. I know doing the right thing is not easy, but do you really want to carry this burden for the rest of your life?

Dreamaurora has already mentioned that she could do just that if evidence is there. I think there should not be pressure on her to testify officially on the matter. She didn't have to type in her response but she shared what she knew. If she 'owe it to Roland Poon to at least help
clear his name', how many more out there owe him more?

[phtthp]

June 28 2012

Straits Times report

a)
Documents throw light on web of City Harvest transactions.

as Prosecution dig further, more people get involved.

Court documents also named other individuals who have yet to be charged:

•Ex-finance manager Serina Wee Gek Yin, 36, who is cited in all the charge sheets;

•The church's assistant accountant Dua Poh Ting;

•Mr Hanafi, who is also a director of Xtron.

http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-1/Story/STIStory_815922.html

b)

City Harvest Church's remarks raise questions.

The unusual move by City Harvest Church to issue a statement dismissing the allegations of misuse of funds before the case has gone to trial - has fuelled questions of its intent.

It could be seen as interfering with judicial process, say some lawyers.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_816906.html

City Harvest disputes '$50 million cheating charges'

refer to quote:-
Executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain, 39, said:

\"It has been suggested that the church has been cheated of $50 million.
This is not accurate. The $24 million, which went to investment bonds, was returned to the church in full, with interest. We didn't lose the $24 million, nor did we lose 'another $26.6 million' as alleged.

He added: The church did not lose any funds in the relevant transactions, and no personal profit was gained by the individuals concerned.\"

Similarly, the police, responding to the same statement, said: \"Generally in law, the offence of criminal breach of trust of monies is established once there is misappropriation of the monies with the requisite intent, regardless of whether there have or have not been subsequent attempts at restitution by the accused .\"

http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-1/Story/STIStory_816456.html

[kwcllf]

LOLMum:

Don't think channel u 11pm mentioned anything about Chc tonite...old news soon.

It was reported that during congregation over the weekend, KH maintained his \"integrity\". Just wonder why he did not use the word \"innocence\"? Seems like something is amiss from the choice of word. :?

[Dreamaurora]

sacredmusicals:

Dream, if you don't mind me saying, I think you owe it to Roland poon to at least help clear his name. I know doing the right thing is not easy, but do you really want to carry this burden for the rest of your life?

I've been thinking about this recently after this CHC saga started again. You are right that I have been carrying this burden for almost 10 years ever since that Roland Poon incident. Since we are on this matter, I think I will shed more on my views on CHC and this Project Crossover.

It is undeniable that CHC has contributed significantly to the community. I was one of the ministry leaders there and had personally witnessed and executed many charitable deeds that CHC's community arm had accomplished. Free tuition and groceries to needy families, assistance for the Down Syndrome and poor elderly, etc. There were good things happening and I was really proud of the church's activeness in reaching out to the community. Then came Project Crossover, Kong Hee's grand idea of using pop culture to reach out the world. The idea was noble and Sun Ho's first CD and initial image was wholesome. So well, everybody figured there would be nothing wrong with it. This is where things started to change drastically in the church. When the CD was launched, the church pasted Sun Ho's posters everywhere in the building and played the secular MTVs in the services. This was when some members started to feel uncomfortable, including me. I always believe the God's Sanctuary is sacred and we should not bring our secular life no matter how noble it is into His house. But nevermind, I thought a little compromise was fine to achieve the intended aims of Project Crossover.

Then came an activity that ordinary members were not aware of to help push Project Crossover. This was the point when I started to seriously question the spirit behind this Project Crossover. It seems like Kong Hee was fully determined to achieve the aims of Project Crossover at any cost. I understood the aims were good, but I wished that certain boundaries were still maintained. Roland Poon probably had an inkling of what was happening from conversations from fellow church members and leaders. But what he lacked was black and white evidence to back his claims. Understandably, noone took his claims seriously in the church and we all know he made the apologies. The Roland Poon incident triggered disillusion among a few of the leaders, who were aware of the circumstances surrounding the allegations. A few of us chose to leave because we could not believe in the church's leadership anymore.

I really wish I can help to absolve Roland Poon now. But like what I said earlier, I do not have black and white evidence to support my account. The church could easily dismiss my account and have a repeat of Roland Poon's incident. If I reveal my account now, my action would not be better than what CHC has done in response to this saga i.e. talk only, no proof. The only possible solution that I can think of if I can somehow get some of these ex-leaders to come out and support my account as well. I know public sentiments against the church is not good now, but I still want to do things correctly. That being said, I do feel that I owe Mr Poon an apology. If anyone here knows how to contact him, I would be grateful. Maybe I could help him get some closure.

To add to this, it was not easy to leave CHC. Emotionally, it was very tough as all my close friends were there. But I knew that I had to do it. When I decided to worship in a Methodist Church, everything felt so different for me. Pace was much slower, people were more earnest, etc. Even though it was such a big change for me, the change enabled me to finally take my time to rediscover God and His Word. I may not be what CHC-er deem to be \"on fire\", but I feel at peace and now I serve and give to Him always with a cheerful heart.

[tankee]

Is this Hanafi the same Indonesian businessman that co-own the sentosa cove penthouse with Kong Hee?

[Melodies]

Yes, Did you find it strange? I do.

tankee:

Is this Hanafi the same Indonesian businessman that co-own the sentosa cove penthouse with Kong Hee?