Singaporean court reduces jail term of City Harvest Church leaders convicted in fraud case

Singapore's high court reduced the jail sentence of six City Harvest Church (CHC) officials who were convicted of misappropriating church money.

Kong Hee, the founder of CHC, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in October 2015, but the Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to three-and-a-half years for criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts. He was found guilty of using $50 million of the church money to fund his wife's music career, Asia One reported.

The sentences of the five other church officials were also reduced by the court, which noted that they were not motivated by personal gain and thought that they were acting in the best interests of the congregation.

The officials thought that their actions would ultimately advance the Crossover Project, which is a church mission intended at spreading the gospel through pop music.

Kong's lawyer, Edwin Tong, said that the 52-year-old CHC founder is still disappointed by the ruling.

"He wants to read it and then he will decide what happens. But he has expressed that he appreciates the judges have said that ultimately they (the CHC six) were acting in the interest of the church, something he always believed in," Tong told reporters, according to TNP.

Former church investment committee member Chew Eng Han, whose sentence was reduced from six years in jail down to three years and four months, said there is a "pretty high" chance that he will seek further legal recourse.

"My case is that when monies are applied for church's benefit, even though it's an unauthorised purpose... That does not constitute misappropriation," he argued.

The judges noted in their ruling that the six officials tried to hide the truth of their transactions from auditors and lawyers because they wanted to keep the use of church funds for the Crossover Project confidential.

The prosecution had earlier stressed on the misappropriation of charity funds as one of the aggravating factors in calling for stiffer sentences. However, the court clarified that while CHC is a charity organization, the donations to the church are not tax-deductible because it's not a type of charity that is also an Institution of Public Character (IPC).

CHC finance committee manager John Lam, 49, who was accused of being an "inside man" who is integral to the success of the conspiracy, was previously sentenced to three years in jail. But the court found that his involvement was "relatively limited" and reduced his sentence to one year and six months.

CHC deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 49 was sentenced to three years and two months in jail, down from his original sentence of five years and six months. The judges conceded that while he was a spiritual leader in the church, he did not have the trust and authority that Kong had.

The court also found CHC finance managers Serina Wee, 40, and Sharon Tan, 41, less culpable because they were not leaders in the church.

Wee, who served as an "administrator," helping out with accounts and documentation, received two years and six months' imprisonment, down from the previous sentence of five years. Tan, who took over the role from Wee, was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment, instead of the previous sentence of 21 months.