SINGAPORE — The City Harvest Church criminal breach of trust case remains Singapore's most sensational religious scandal: six church leaders, led by founder and senior pastor Kong Hee, were found guilty in 2015 of misusing S$50 million of church money — the largest amount of charity funds ever misappropriated in Singapore.
Kong founded City Harvest Church with his wife Sun Ho (Ho Yeow Sun) in 1989. The church grew into a megachurch preaching a prosperity gospel that blended spiritual and material aspirations, with its congregation peaking at about 33,000 in 2010. But behind the electrifying Sunday services, prosecutors said, church leaders had channelled millions into sham bond investments to fund Sun Ho's pop music career in the United States — complete with racy music videos and a lavish lifestyle that attracted public controversy — and then falsified accounts to cover the tracks.
After a marathon 142-day trial that began in 2013, Kong was convicted in October 2015 of criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts and sentenced to eight years in jail. Five other church leaders were convicted alongside him: deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng (five and a half years), former finance managers Serina Wee (five years) and Sharon Tan (21 months), former finance committee member John Lam (three years) and former fund manager Chew Eng Han (six years).
On appeal in April 2017, a three-judge High Court panel found them guilty of a less serious form of criminal breach of trust in a split decision and roughly halved the sentences: Kong's term was cut to three and a half years, Tan Ye Peng's to three years and two months, Chew's to three years and four months, Wee's to two and a half years, Sharon Tan's to seven months and Lam's to 18 months. The court noted the six were not motivated by personal gain and that no permanent loss was intended or caused — all the money was returned to the church with interest.
The prosecution appealed to the Court of Appeal seeking reinstatement of the original sentences. On February 1, 2018, the apex court dismissed the appeal, ruling the High Court had been entitled to its interpretation and that the reduced sentences would stand — ending nearly five years of legal battles that had gripped a city-state with little tolerance for corruption.
There was late drama: Chew Eng Han, who had been on bail pending appeal, was arrested on February 21, 2018 — a day before he was due to begin his sentence — for attempting to flee Singapore unlawfully by boat. He was subsequently jailed, and the Malaysian boatman who helped him, Tan Poh Teck, was sentenced for abetting the escape.
Kong, once known for his glamorous image, appeared in court in purple prison garb, his hair noticeably greyed, waving to more than 50 supporters who had waited outside from early morning. After the final verdict, he said he felt at peace with the outcome.
The case raised enduring questions about the governance of religious organisations and financial accountability within them, and about the prosperity gospel itself — a doctrine critics said had blurred the line between faith and the financing of a pop career.