Appeals start for City Harvest Church leaders

By: Kheng-Liang Tan

Six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders will spend the next week appealing their earlier convictions in the Court of Three Judges. The sensational case – which is Singapore’s largest charity scandal – involves misappropriating $50 million of church funds.

After a lengthy trial last year, the High Court found the six leaders guilty of using $24 million belonging to the Church to fund the music career of Sun Ho. To cover up their tracks, they used another $26 million.

Despite arguing that they were just taking instructions from Kong Hee, the trial judge said they were “effectively putting CHC’s funds into their own hands to use as needed” despite being “not authorised” and handed them jail terms of between 21 months and 8 years:

Kong Hee (Pastor) – 8 years
Tan Ye Peng (Deputy Senior Pastor) – 5 years and 6 months
Chew Eng Han (Fund Manager) – 6 years
John Lam (Secretary of Church’s Management Board) – 3 years
Sharon Tan (Finance Manager) – 21 month
Serina Wee (Finance Manager) – 5 years

At the same hearing, the Court will also hear an appeal from the prosecution who is seeking a heavier penalty for the six as they believed that the sentences given by the High Court was “manifestly inadequate, in all the circumstances of the case”.