SINGAPORE – Singapore’s high court on Friday cut the jail sentence for the co-founder of one of the city-state’s most popular churches, after he appealed his conviction and sentence for misusing millions of dollars to support of his wife’s pop singing career.

The Court of Appeal sentenced Kong Hee, 52, head of City Harvest Church (CHC), to 3-1/2 years for criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts, reducing the eight years term he got in October 2015. Other five church leaders also had their sentences reduced.

Kong was found guilty of misusing $50 million of church money to fund his wife’s musical career. Local media said it was the largest amount of charity funds ever misappropriated in Singapore.

Kong’s lawyer Edwin Tong, was quoted by The Straits Times as saying his client was “disappointed” the conviction was not overturned, but appreciated that the judge said he was acting in the church’s interest.

City Harvest Church preaches a “prosperity gospel” that blends spiritual and material aspirations. His wife, Ho Yeow Sun – known as Sun Ho – is famous for a video of her English-language hit “China Wine,” which shows her dancing intimately with rapper Wyclef Jean.

The defence has said Sun Ho’s music career was used to evangelise. She was not charged in the case.

“This was a situation which… involved no personal gain on the appellants’ part,” Judge Chao Hick Tin said. “They believed that their acts … would ultimately advance the interests of CHC.”

While megachurches originated in the United States, some of the largest are in Asia, where packaging the traditional biblical message into a more dynamic format of pop music, lively services and social media has lured a new generation of followers and turned the churches into major enterprises.

CHC had a congregation of 16,482 and 49 affiliations in China, the United States, and seven other countries in 2015, according to its latest annual report.

Over 50 people, mostly followers, queued for a seat in court hours before the sentence.

Singapore – For nine hours, Jairus Ang was left clinging on to his life while lying on the grass. He was one of the victims brutally assaulted by four construction workers from Sarawak, who went on a robbery rampage in Kallang back in 2010. The assault left one dead and three severely wounded, one of them being Mr Ang, whose left hand was so badly injured that doctors had to amputate it.

Seven years on, Mr Ang (26) is living his life to the fullest. Since the attack, he had gone on to complete his National Service, graduated from University of Virginia, and started work in the US. It was at the request of the interview that he recounts the days right after the attack, otherwise, he wouldn’t have looked back.

“Don’t wallow in self-pity, life is full of opportunities,” said Mr Ang.

In the sixth episode of “The Newsmaker”, Mr Jairus Ang shares his take on life and explains how he bears no grudges against his perpetrators. His parents also reveals their journey through ordeal, and how they have come to terms with their son’s misfortune.

Read also:

– No grudge although he lost 6 fingers in Kallang slashings

– Survivor of Kallang slashings hope to return to S’pore

– Their loot from rampage? $70 each

About “The Newsmaker”:

“The Newsmaker” (封面人物) is one of 10 SPH-produced short form digital video series as part of a pilot Public Service Broadcast initiative. In this 13-part series, people who have made news headlines in the past share with the host Fred Lai (Content Producer, Chinese Media Group Digital) how the news events changed their lives and how they have been coping since then. All episodes come with English subtitles.

This series is also available on the zaobao.sg website and mobile app.

SINGAPORE – Digital outdoor advertising wheeled its way into the heart of Orchard Road – literally – on a mobile truck fitted with LED screens on its sides, as radio DJs from UFM100.3 worked up the crowd with the station listeners’ favourite songs. UFM100.3 is the Chinese radio station of SPH Radio.

The U1000 Music Countdown (U选1000) event was held over three days from March 31 at the outdoor atrium of Plaza Singapura to announce the results of listeners’ votes cast earlier.

A selection of the top 1000 songs was played by DJs Jingyun and Xinying at a live broadcast to an appreciative audience who had gathered at the atrium.

Local singer Jocie Kok made a special appearance on Day 1 and DJs Anna and Chengyao hosted games and entertained the crowd on Day 2.

The winners walked away with vouchers from KokoPanda, HUSK or Popbar, and travel kits from Crabtree & Evelyn and Kiehl’s. Vitagen drinks were given out to the public with the compliments from VITAGEN Less Sugar, presenter of the event.

The public were encouraged to take part in a contest by posting photos of themselves with Vitagen drinks and UFM fan cards on the UFM100.3 Facebook page. Those who participated stand to win prizes, including a $1,000 cash prize.

In keeping with the carnival atmosphere, the LED truck, supplied by SPHMBO, the Out-of-Home media unit of SPH, was bedecked in UFM100.3’s vibrant colors and logo.

To widen the reach and draw attention to the event, the screen on the truck showed segments of the Countdown from the “live” broadcast of UFM100.3 Facebook.

The almost 4m by 2m screens, equipped with a 4 channel high power sound system, also entertained the audience with a number of UFM100.3’s countdown videos.

Mr Sim Hong Huat, general manager of SPH Radio said: “The LED truck has added a new dimension to our LIVE events and greatly expanded the possibilities of engagement with our audience. The visibility of our brand and activities is greatly enhanced through this vehicle”.

For those who missed the event, the U1000 Countdown finale will be held at the outdoor main stage of Bugis Junction between 1pm and 8pm on April 14.

As a prelude, the public will be able to enjoy viewing a variety of music videos, courtesy of UFM100.3, on the LED truck, which will be stationed at the same location from April 10.

You do not have to travel far to be near nature. There are green gems nestled right in your neighbourhood.

The National Parks Board (NParks) manages 350 parks across Singapore and many of them are located near residential estates to provide easy access to green spaces, says Ms Kartini Omar, the board’s group director of parks development.

She says: “They provide people with green recreational spaces and enhance the quality of our living environment and are integral to our vision to transform Singapore into a city in a garden.”

The Straits Times visits six parks located near residences and finds out what you can do in them.

Zhenghua Nature

Opened in 2002, this nature park in Bukit Panjang skirts around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and serves as its green buffer.

In November 2015, a 3.8ha extension featuring a wide variety of plants expanded the park to 17.3ha.

New facilities added include a pavilion, a multi-purpose lawn, a children’s playground, an exercise station, public toilets, shelters, as well as jogging and cycling tracks.

Retiree Grace Wong, 64, who lives in an HDB block nearby, has been going to the park about three times a week since the extension opened. She brisk walks and uses the exercise station.

“I wasn’t motivated to exercise before,” she says. “But such a beautiful park with exercise facilities so near my place gives me the incentive to do so.”

Because of its link to the nature reserve and its diversity of plant life, the park attracts rich wildlife.

Thirty-seven bird species have been spotted there, including the olive-backed sunbird, flameback woodpecker, pink-necked green pigeon, greater racket-tailed drongo and long-tailed parakeet.

Long-tailed macaques, squirrels and monitor lizards are other common sights.

It is also a popular spot for families. Housewife Jade Ng, 44, often goes there with her three teenage children and husband.

They live in an HDB block across the road.

Her husband jogs, her children sometimes fly a kite, while she brisk walks or does yoga.

She says: “There’s something for both the young and old here.”

• Where: Segar Road entrance (nearest LRT station is Segar or Fajar), Bangkit Road entrance (nearest LRT station is Bangkit), Chestnut Avenue entrance (bus numbers 700, 700A and 966)
• Lighting hours: 7pm to 7am

Park Yishun Park

Shortly after the launch of Pokemon Go in Singapore, this 13.9ha park made the news as a Pokemon hotspot and hundreds of people gathered there nightly to play the augmented reality game.

The Pokemon fervour has since receded, but the park remains a favourite spot for residents nearby to exercise and relax.

It has two children’s playgrounds, one which has a sand pit – an uncommon feature in new Singapore playgrounds.

It also features fitness corners, an amphitheatre and a multi-purpose court.

Built in the mid-1990s over an old rubber estate, the park is home to an array of tropical fruit trees such as durian, rambutan, jackfruit, star fruit, coconut and bread fruit.

There is also the Dipterocarp Arboretum, or a living gallery of dipterocarps, which are a family of giant trees unique to tropical lowland rainforests.

For Yishun residents such as housewife Foo Meng Yock, who is in her 40s, and her son Isaac, seven, the park is a transportation shortcut and a hang-out.

Besides cycling through Yishun Park with her son to take him to school every day, she also takes him there to rollerblade and play badminton.

Occasionally, she also takes her son swimming at the Safra clubhouse, which is located on the park’s grounds.

She says: “I am glad that we can do so many different activities so close to home.”

• Where: A 15-minute walk from Yishun MRT station
• Park lighting hours: 7pm to 7am

Tampines Eco Green

Opened in 2011, this ecopark is designed to look like a savannah, with various natural habitats such as marshlands, secondary forests and freshwater ponds.

At 36ha, it is also home to more than 75 species of birds, 20 species of dragonflies, 35 species of butterflies and 32 species of spiders.

It has many eco-friendly features including benches and signage made from recycled tree trunks.

Three bird hides, created with recycled twigs and branches, are used to shield birdwatchers so they do not disturb the birds.

Instead of a concrete footpath, the walking trails are covered with creeping grass. The park also features the first flush-free ecotoilet in public parks here. This converts human waste into compost using bacteria and wood shavings.

After checking out three to four parks in the east last year, Upper Changi resident Yong Caiwen, 34, a mother of two, chose Tampines Eco Green as the site for a child-led nature play group that she was facilitating, called Nature Play East Singapore.

“The park has hardly any signs of urbanisation and you find yourself engulfed by nature. It is also shady and there are bodies of water where children can observe pondlife.”

She also appreciates that the park does not allow cyclists or pets because “this brings a very different feel to the environment”.

She adds: “It’s also accessible by public transport.”

• Where: Alight at Tampines MRT station and walk 20 minutes to the park via Sun Plaza Park
• Lighting hours: No lighting after dark

Sembawang Park

Tucked away in the northern corner of Singapore facing the Johor Straits, this park features one of the few remaining natural beaches in Singapore.

The park, which is laid out on undulating terrain, also offers visitors a glimpse of Singapore’s colonial past.

The Sembawang Naval Base was developed there by the British in the 1920s to 1930s.

Some remnants from that era remain.

For example, the walkways in the park are restored old pathways used during the British occupation.

The Sembawang jetty was built by the British and later completed by the Japanese.

It is now a favourite spot for anglers to hang out.

Overlooking the jetty is Beaulieu House, built around 1910 as a private seaside retreat and later occupied by the British during the naval base years.

It now houses a restaurant, which serves Chinese seafood, Western cuisine and local delights.

In 2011, the 15ha park underwent an upgrading.

New amenities include a promenade, a fitness area and barbecue pits.

The old playground was replaced by a new one built in the form of a battleship, to tie in with the park’s past as a naval base.

Sembawang resident and heritage blogger Jerome Lim, 52, says the park has been a special place for him since his childhood days.

“The jetty in the old days was quite different, without railings. I spent many nights there as a child fishing for crabs – something I continued to do into my late teens.”

The jetty remains his favourite spot and he still visits the park about once a week “for the calm that the park and the sea provides”.

He says: “It is also a great place to catch the sunrise.”

• Where: At the end of Sembawang Road. It can be reached by bus number 882. The nearest MRT station is Sembawang
• Park lighting hours: 7pm to 7am

Jurong Central Park

Jurong Central Park brings a new twist to the board game experience.

At its snakes and ladders playground, the pavement on the ground is marked with numbers and players move through the playground based on the number they “roll”.

When players land on a ladder, they have to climb across an obstacle to a higher number. When they land on a “snake”, they have to go down a slide to a lower number. The first player to reach the number 100 wins.

Meanwhile, the Ludo Garden features a life-sized Ludo board game and players act as the “pieces” that move around on the board.

Instructions on how to play both games can be found at the park.

Opened in 2007, Jurong Central Park was the first park here to have life-sized board game features.

Nature lovers can also explore and discover the various types of aquatic plants, wildlife species and dragonflies that thrive in the ponds.

The park is also popular among serious runners such as Mr Lim Yanglyn. The salesman in his 30s trains there twice a week with members of the Jurong Safra Running Club, which is located next to the park.

He says: “I like that there is enough space here to accommodate both serious runners and those who run for leisure.”

• Where: Jurong Central Park is situated across Boon Lay MRT station.
• Park lighting hours: 7pm to 7am

Pasir Ris Town Park

A 3ha seawater fishing pond can be found at this park, which is full of mature shady trees.

There are also smaller ponds for catching crabs and prawns. By the ponds are two bistro-bars and a halal seafood restaurant, Warong Kim’s Seafood, that are popular at night.

The ponds and the restaurants were opened by D’Best Fishing in August 2014.

Seamstress Romnah Omar, 53, has been living in the HDB block across the road with her family since 1992 and can see part of the park from her flat.

She says: “The park used to be more quiet in the past but has become more commercialised.”

In the past, she used to go there with her children, now aged 23 and 27. Nowadays, she goes alone or with her friends to exercise.

She also enjoys having dinner with her friends at Warong Kim’s Seafood after work.

“The food is good and reasonably priced. It’s a nice alternative to the malls. It’s more quiet and peaceful. You can see people fishing or prawning and children running on the grass.”

• Where: Opposite Pasir Ris MRT station
• Lighting hours: 7pm to 7am

leawee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on April 7, 2017.
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SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) was fined $230,000 yesterday for a workplace safety lapse which resulted in the death of a technician about 3 1/2 years ago.

The fatal accident happened at Changi Hangar Complex Hangar 3 in Airline Road at about 3.15pm on Oct 10, 2013.

Mr Puvanalingam Balakrishnan, 34, was waiting underneath the starboard fuselage docking platform as he wanted to access the cargo compartment of a Boeing 777 aircraft after the platform was repositioned.

Suddenly, the platform fell and pinned the Malaysian underneath it. He was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he died at 12.20am the next day from multiple injuries.

A representative of SIAEC pleaded guilty last month to failing to provide adequate instructions for workers to work safely, implement an adequate risk assessment, and ensure that the starboard fuselage docking platform was safe for use, resulting in the death of Mr Puvanalingam.

Investigations showed that SIAEC was aware of the risk of the docking platform slipping, through a quarterly maintenance service letter dated Aug 7, 2006, that highlighted problems with the platform’s screw jacks.

Three years later, the company was also advised of the need to replace some screw jacks. Although SIAEC later bought screw jacks in 2010, it did not replace the ones for that platform.

Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Jonathan Sun asked for a fine of $250,000 to be imposed as the breaches were not only serious but also over a period of time and a result of SIAEC’s negligence.

SIAEC lawyer Niru Pillai said it took immediate steps to review its processes, tighten safety protocols and implement further safety procedures to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

He said his client accepted responsibility and settled with Mr Puvanaligam’s family, including making additional payments to help them.

The maximum penalty for contravening the Workplace Safety and Health Act is a fine of $500,000.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Apr 07, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Two Singapore-based companies announced this week that they have raised nearly US$20 million (S$28.03 million) in Series A funding, a sign that investors are reverting to making huge bets on early-stage startups.

The first is property search portal 99.co. The Business Times has learnt that the three-year-old startup has secured US$7.9 million in a round led by existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Eduardo Saverin, taking total funding to over US$10 million.

99.co will use the money to expand to two new South-east Asian countries, improve its tech offerings and grow the team.

Today, it operates in Singapore and Indonesia, and has a team of about 60. It has since 2014 amassed some 150,000 residential listings, and is said to have served over 2.5 million users last year.

Acknowledging the crowded online property search space, 99.co chief Darius Cheung said that a key differentiator is technology.

While his company – best known for its proprietary map-based search engine – is not looking to offer virtual or augmented reality solutions yet, it is exploring 3D visualisation.

When asked about long-term plans, Mr Cheung said that 99.co is open to the idea of an initial public offering, which he sees as a financing channel.

“We will go there if there is no more private money (we can tap).”

The serial entrepreneur, whose first venture, mobile security startup tenCube, was acquired by McAfee for reportedly S$25 million in 2010, added: “99.co started monetising in 2016. We are not profitable, and are not going to be in the next three years. But we believe that the market size is in the billions.

In five years’ time, we hope to be a unicorn.”

Last year, the company launched its first revenue model: subscription plans which start from S$388 a year, that offer features such as an interactive map search, unlimited floor-plan access across all residential units, historical property transaction data, and a real-time chat function for real estate agents and homeseekers.

Mr Saverin, an early investor in 99.co, said: “There is no question that real estate is one of the largest markets that has remained antiquated and inefficient. This is an opportunity to build a unicorn-level company many times over.”

Meanwhile, advertising technology (adtech) firm AdAsia Holdings has snagged US$12 million in Series A funding from Singapore-based venture capital firm JAFCO Asia.

This is believed to be the largest such financing round for an adtech company in South-east Asia, and the largest investment made in a company by JAFCO in a single investment round.

AdAsia will use the funds to expand to new markets including China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia in 2017; more than quadruple its team to 400 by 2018; and accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in its offerings.

Co-founder Kosuke Sogo said: “AI and machine learning will provide an added layer on top of our current product lineup. It will also be a big part of future innovations, addressing the needs of modern marketers, advertisers and publishers.”

Founded in 2016, AdAsia has created a flagship product, the AdAsia Digital Platform, which provides solutions that enable programmatic buying and reporting across display, video and native ads on both desktop and mobile – through a single, transparent dashboard,

The startup also has digital marketing consultants and in-house creative teams to support marketers and advertisers in their activities, providing end-to-end solutions across online advertising and influencer marketing. It has 90 employees and 300 clients.

Commenting on the deals, Eugene Wong, managing director of Sirius Venture Capital, told BT: “We’re beginning to see some signs that venture capitalists are putting larger amounts into startups – based on a plan to gain speed – and subsidising the costs to acquire users and gain market share.”

But he cautioned that as more large funds targeting the South-east Asian tech startup space are being established, fund managers could be pressured to invest their money.

“Of course, the quality of startups here have improved compared to the dotcom era, but the basic rule still applies. When there is too much money chasing startups, valuations will go up, and the danger of not meeting expectations may occur in future.”

This article was first published on April 7, 2017.
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