SINGAPORE: The High Court will deliver a verdict on an appeal by leaders of City Harvest Church next Friday (Apr 7).
The six church leaders were sentenced to jail terms of between 21 months and 8 years in November 2015 for misusing S$50 million of church funds – the largest amount of charity funds ever misappropriated in Singapore. The money was used to bankroll the secular music career of church founder Kong Hee’s wife, Sun Ho.
All six launched appeals, arguing their convictions should be overturned.
Prosecutors have urged the High Court to not only uphold the convictions, but to increase the sentences as follows:
Kong Hee: From 8 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail
Tan Ye Peng: From 5 years and 6 months to 11 to 12 years’ jail
Chew Eng Han: From 6 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail
Serina Wee: From 5 years to 11 to 12 years’ jail
John Lam: From 3 years to 8 to 9 years’ jail
Sharon Tan: From 21 months to 5 to 6 years’ jail
The prosecutors said the six “committed fraud of the worst kind” and that the judge had given “undue weight” to mitigating factors by noting that the offenders caused no permanent loss to the church and did not gain personally from their crimes.
