City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and four others, including former board members, were arrested on Tuesday morning following a probe into financial irregularities of the church by both the police and the Commissioner of Charities (CoC).
Among other things, the CoC found financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the church funds. Its spokesman said the funds were used with the purported intention to finance the wife of pastor Kong, Ms Ho Yeow Sun's secular music career to connect with people.
'There was a concerted effort to conceal this movement of funds from its stakeholders,' said the CoC spokesman.
In a statement, the police named the five: church founder Kong Hee, his deputy, Mr Tan Ye Peng, former board member, John Lam Leng Hung, church investment manager Chew Eng Han, and church finance manager Sharon Tan Shao Yuen.
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Did Sun Ho show too much skin at awards?
Sun Ho or Hé Yàoshān or Ho Yeow Sun or Yeow-Sun Ho (何耀珊)
DECKED out in a black Rodarte dress complete with striking stockings and Rodarte boots, Singapore singer Sun Ho looked girlish yet gothic.
But, oops, did the 37-year-old mother slip up and accidentally expose the lower part of her right breast? Did that slit across the bodice show too much skin in the wrong place?
The picture, taken by wire agency Reuters, was of Sun walking down the red carpet at the Grammy Awards held on Monday at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.
However, in an e-mail interview with The New Paper from New York, where she is currently based, Sun insisted that “the dress was made that way”.
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Inquiry found misconduct and mismanagement in the City Harvest Church
Commissioner of Charities suspends governing board members, trustees, employees, agents and Executive members under the Charities Act
The Commissioner of Charities (COC) instituted an Inquiry into the City Harvest Church (the Charity) on 31 May 2010 under the Charities Act. Concurrently, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) commenced investigations into financial transactions involving several individuals and companies, related or connected to the Charity. Both the COC and CAD have since concluded its Inquiry and investigations, respectively. Separately and independently from CAD, COC has decided to take action under the Charities Act.
COC’s Inquiry revealed misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the Charity, particularly in relation to the funds that were in the Building Fund which had been raised and earmarked for specific purposes. Financial irregularities of at least $23 million from the Charity’s funds have been discovered. These funds were used with the purported intention to finance Ho Yeow Sun’s secular music career to connect with people. There was a concerted effort to conceal this movement of funds from its stakeholders. Refer to Annex for the details of the misconduct and mismanagement.
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Song of shame as pastor held - Hong Kong Standard
Singapore: City Harvest Church Pastor Kong Hee accused of using donations to - GlobalPost
Kong Hee of Singapore's City Harvest Megachurch Arrested for Allegedly - Christian Post
Singapore church founder arrested in fraud case - Boston.com
Singapore church founder 'misused £11.5 million in donations' - Telegraph.co.uk
Singapore Arrests Pastor for Accounts Linked to Pop Singer Wife - San Francisco Chronicle
Pastor arrested over misuse of $18m - News24
Singaporean Mega-Church Founder Arrested For Allegedly Using $18 Million In - Business Insider
Singapore church founder arrested in fraud case - Denverpost.com
Singapore mega-church founder arrested; gov't says $18M used for his pop singer wife's career - The Vancouver Sun
Singapore pastor arrested over misuse of $18M - ABS-CBN News
Singapore pastor arrested over misuse of US $ 18 mn - NDTV.com
Pastor Kong Hee Arrested For Fraud In Singapore, Financing Wife Ho Yeow Sun's Career - Huffington Post
Singapore church founder arrested in fraud case -
Singapore church founder 'misused £11.5 million in donations' - T
SINGAPORE — Authorities have arrested the founder of one of Singapore’s largest evangelical churches and alleged millions of dollars in church money was used to aid the career of his pop singer wife.
The Singapore Police Force said it plans to charge City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee on Wednesday with conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust. The police statement Tuesday said four other church leaders would be charged with breach of trust and conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts.
Ex-SPH VP charged for corruption, criminal breach of trust
Former ST Pocket Money Fund organising chairman admitted to receiving illegal payments, misappropriating shopping vouchers
Ex-SPH VP charged for corruption, criminal
Former Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) senior vice-president Peter Khoo was this morning charged in court for corruption and criminal breach of trust.
Khoo, who was arrested in September 2010, had allegedly received illegal payments and misappropriated shopping vouchers while he was organising chairman of the activities and events for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. He was dismissed from SPH that month.
A total of ten charges were read out in court - eight for corruption and two for criminal breach of trust. The prosecution is proceeding on two charges of corruption and one of criminal breach of trust.
According to the prosecution's charge sheets, Khoo is charged with obtaining monetary gratifications from one Liaw Kim Chew while in charge of the Editorial Project Unit as reward for awarding Liaw with business deals between July 2006 and August 2010.
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"Premature to claim trial" over former CNB chief's corruption charges
Former CNB chief Ng Boon Gay, who was charged with four counts of corruption, was back in court on Tuesday for a hearing.
Ng allegedly obtained sexual favours from Sue, a sales manager with Oracle Corporation Singapore and formerly Hitachi Data Systems.
Ng's lawyer, Mr Tan Chee Meng, said that it was still "premature to claim trial" as the details of the case were "not available as yet".
Mr Tan had previously sought to clarify how Ng's alleged offences had advanced the business of Cecilia Sue Siew Nang, but said on Tuesday that he "had not received all the information".
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Protest outside Singapore High Commission in KL over Bersih 3.0 rally involvement
KUALA LUMPUR - Supporters of the Malay rights group, Perkasa, have staged a protest outside the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
They insisted that Singapore diplomatic staff had participated in the recent Bersih 3.0 rally in support of electoral reform on April 28.
They called for an official apology and for three Singapore officials to be recalled immediately.
Nearly 300 people took part in the half-hour demonstration led by Perkasa's president, Ibrahim Ali.
Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) had said on 22 June that allegations about its officers interfering in Malaysia's politics are "baseless".
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Woman sues insurance giant AIA over life policy
Policy suspended; she insists benefit illustration has contractual effect
Former Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) senior vice-president Peter Khoo was this morning charged in court for corruption and criminal breach of trust.
Khoo, who was arrested in September 2010, had allegedly received illegal payments and misappropriated shopping vouchers while he was organising chairman of the activities and events for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. He was dismissed from SPH that month.
A total of ten charges were read out in court - eight for corruption and two for criminal breach of trust. The prosecution is proceeding on two charges of corruption and one of criminal breach of trust.
According to the prosecution's charge sheets, Khoo is charged with obtaining monetary gratifications from one Liaw Kim Chew while in charge of the Editorial Project Unit as reward for awarding Liaw with business deals between July 2006 and August 2010.
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"Premature to claim trial" over former CNB chief's corruption charges
Former CNB chief Ng Boon Gay, who was charged with four counts of corruption, was back in court on Tuesday for a hearing.
Ng allegedly obtained sexual favours from Sue, a sales manager with Oracle Corporation Singapore and formerly Hitachi Data Systems.
Ng's lawyer, Mr Tan Chee Meng, said that it was still "premature to claim trial" as the details of the case were "not available as yet".
Mr Tan had previously sought to clarify how Ng's alleged offences had advanced the business of Cecilia Sue Siew Nang, but said on Tuesday that he "had not received all the information".
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Protest outside Singapore High Commission in KL over Bersih 3.0 rally involvement
KUALA LUMPUR - Supporters of the Malay rights group, Perkasa, have staged a protest outside the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
They insisted that Singapore diplomatic staff had participated in the recent Bersih 3.0 rally in support of electoral reform on April 28.
They called for an official apology and for three Singapore officials to be recalled immediately.
Nearly 300 people took part in the half-hour demonstration led by Perkasa's president, Ibrahim Ali.
Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) had said on 22 June that allegations about its officers interfering in Malaysia's politics are "baseless".
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Woman sues insurance giant AIA over life policy
Policy suspended; she insists benefit illustration has contractual effect
A woman who bought a life policy with an assured sum of $200,000 from AIA Singapore in 1993 is now battling the insurance giant in court.
Madam Zhu Yong Zhen, 49, is suing for damages, alleging breach of contract, after AIA suspended her policy in 2009.
A five-day hearing into the lawsuit opened in the High Court on Monday.
Representing herself in court, she alleged that according to the 'original policy quotation', she needed to pay premiums for only 16 years.
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Taxi driver jailed for paid sex with underage girl
A taxi driver was sentenced to three months' jail on Monday for having paid sex with an underage girl.
Chong Heng Kow, 53, pleaded guilty to paying the 16-year-old Vietnamese girl $100 for sex at a Geylang hotel last July.
The father of two was introduced to the girl by a couple who ran a prostitution ring.
Seng Swee Meng and his Vietnamese wife Ngo Tien were living off the earnings of underage prostitutes.
Seng was jailed five years in April, while Ngo Tien is at large after leaving Singapore last July.
In Singapore, it is illegal to have paid sex with girls under 18. Chong could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
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Ex-Pei Chun principal out of prison
The former principal of Pei Chun Public School, Lee Lip Hong, was released from Changi Prison on Friday.
He was sentenced to nine weeks' jail in April for having paid sex with an underage girl.
The 39-year-old served six weeks' jail and was released early for good behaviour.
Mr Lee is the first among 48 men to be sentenced in the online vice ring case.
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Man jailed 8 years, 12 strokes of cane for oral sex with minor
A man was sentenced to eight years' corrective training and 12 strokes of the cane on Monday for sexually abusing a six-year-old boy.
Khamis Dawi, 47, had admitted to sexual assault by penetrating a minor at the void deck of an HDB block in July last year without his consent.
A district court heard that the victim and his seven-year-old sister were playing at the void deck on a Sunday in July last year when Khamis asked them to follow him.
He led them to some stone tables. The girl was afraid of him and ran away. She hid behind a nearby letter box and saw what Khamis did to her brother.
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Man jailed 4 months for sexually abusing 15-year-old girl
A man who sexually abused a 15-year-old girl was jailed for four months on Monday.
Ng Wai Yeong, 23, had admitted to two charges of sexual assault by penetration of a minor at a condominium carpark and along Lorong Lew Lian in November 2010.
A district court heard that shortly after meeting the victim at a Halloween party, Ng kept in touch with her by sending her messages over Facebook and phone as well as calling her.
He started picking her up from school in his car and sending her home and to her training sessions. Sometime in November 2010, he picked her up from her condominium and drove to a shaded area in the car park where he committed the offence.
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12-year-old arrested for housebreaking with 5 others
Police have arrested three males and three females, aged between 9 and 17 years, who are believed to have broken into a provision shop located at Holland Close.
The 51-year-old victim reported the housebreaking on the afternoon of June 24. Cash amounting to about $1,800 was found missing.
With the aid of CCTV's footage obtained from the shop, the officers managed to establish the identity of the first suspect, a 12-year-old female, and placed her under arrest.
Through follow up investigations, her five other accomplices were also arrested in the vicinity of Commonwealth Crescent.
The three suspects were believed to have gained entry into the provision shop via the rear door with stolen keys while the rest of the suspects acted as lookouts.
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3 youths arrested for theft from vehicles
Police have arrested three youths, aged 14 to 15, for their suspected involvement in several cases of theft from vehicles in Telok Kurau and Siglap estates.
On April 27, the police were notified of a cashcard being stolen from a vehicle at Siglap estate.
Police officers conducted enquiries in the neighbourhood and managed to establish the identities of the three suspects
They were then arrested in the vicinity of Marine Terrace on June 20.
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Ex-Gurkha officer arrested after 2-hour manhunt
An ex-Gurkha officer was arrested by the police on Monday after a two-hour manhunt in a forested area in Pasir Ris.
The Straits Times said the 35-year-old was arrested for desertion. He last held the rank of police constable in the 2,000-strong Gurkha Contingent.
Investigations are still ongoing. He is understood to have failed to report back to camp as ordered.
The operation started at about 5pm on Monday in the forest off Jalan Loyang Besar and Pasir Ris Drive 4.
At least eight police vehicles, including red trucks from the Special Operations Command, were present.
Around 30 officers, including some in plainclothes, scoured the area. They also used sniffer dogs.
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152 arrested in 18-hour CID-led operation
152 suspects were arrested in an 18-hour joint operation led by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The operation, which also involved the Police, Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore Customs, ended early on Saturday morning.
It targeted entertainment outlets, lodging houses, coffee shops and back-alleys in areas such as Geylang, Bukit Batok, Selegie, Joo Chiat, Jalan Sultan, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and Clementi.
Of the 152 suspects arrested, 98 are males and 54 are females -- all aged between 17 and 54 years old.
They are suspected of offences linked to gang activity, drug abuse, illegal betting, immigration, vice and cigarette smuggling.
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40 years of container shipping
Launch of then-controversial mode of shipping was milestone for S'pore
IT HAPPENED 40 years ago, but PSA Corp operations supervisor Martin Verghese, 68, still remembers the day vividly.
It was June 23, 1972, and Singapore was about to welcome the first all-container ship to its port.
Mr Verghese was on edge: He was among the initial batch of crane operators who would be unloading the vessel at PSA's new Tanjong Pagar Terminal.
He said: 'Everybody was eagerly awaiting the ship's arrival - the mood was tense. It was a significant milestone for Singapore.'
The MV Nihon had made its maiden voyage with 300 containers from Rotterdam to Singapore non-stop to be on time for the opening of the new port.
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