6 church leaders in Singapore convicted of fraud
Print Edition
Six Christian church leaders in Singapore were convicted of fraud yesterday for using US$36 million to turn the pastor’s glamorous singer wife into a global pop star to attract more followers.
After a two-year trial that captivated Singapore with tales of lavish spending and financial deceit, pastor Kong Hee and five aides were found guilty of diverting S$24 million (US$17 million) to finance his wife Sun Ho’s singing career, which failed to take off.
The six, who insisted the project was conceived for religious reasons, were also found guilty of misappropriating another S$26 million from the evangelical City Harvest Church to cover their tracks, prosecutors said.
Ho, 43, who appeared in a 2007 music video with rapper Wyclef Jean in an attempt to cross over from Mandarin pop and reach a wider English-language audience, was not charged.
The church tried to justify the use of the money saying Ho’s music could be used to attract followers overseas, and spent large sums on high glitz music videos featuring skimpily clad dancers. Judge See Kee Oon found pastor Kong and one other church leader guilty of criminal breach of trust. The four others, including the church accountants, were convicted of varying counts of criminal breach of trust.
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