Kong had ultimate say in funding Ho’s music career: Prosecution

SINGAPORE — City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee was very much involved in the financing of his wife Ho Yeow Sun’s pop music career and had the ultimate say in ensuring a church-linked company had the funds to pay for her United States album production, prosecutors argued yesterday.

In his cross-examination of Kong, Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong said the accused was lying when he said key decisions for Ms Ho’s career — also known as the church’s Crossover Project to evangelise through secular pop music — had required the approval of directors of her Singapore management company Xtron Productions. Together with five other church leaders, Kong is facing criminal charges for misappropriating church funds.

In telling the court earlier about the decision to split with hip-hop star Wyclef Jean for Ms Ho’s album, Kong did not mention any involvement of Xtron directors, DPP Ong pointed out. And co-accused Chew Eng Han had told Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigators that Xtron directors, who included church member and Crossover supporter Wahju Hanafi, were not actively involved, instead giving support regardless of knowledge.

Another accused, Serina Wee, who did the church and Xtron’s accounts, also told the CAD that Kong, Chew and the church’s former second-in-command Tan Ye Peng would work out solutions when there was a shortage of funds, before presenting them to Xtron directors.

Kong said he had influence in decisions on the project and that he and his team had been tasked to execute the project. However, the ultimate authority laid with Xtron directors, he insisted.

Asked if he would be at fault if the bonds Chew and Tan had come up with to finance the Crossover turned out to be illegal, Kong said he had tasked them to check with lawyers and auditors. “Would the professionals also be responsible?” he questioned.

He added that he would leave it to the court to decide, to which DPP Ong retorted that he was being evasive and would have to implicate himself if he answered truthfully.

Prosecutors contend that the S$24 million worth of bonds bought by the church from Xtron and Mr Hanafi’s Indonesian glassware firm were sham bonds, and that the accused misused another S$26.6 million to cover up the first amount.

The prosecution yesterday also sought to show that Kong was very hands-on in the Crossover. In an August 2007 email to Tan, Kong reprimanded his deputy for botched promotional efforts in China, questioning why he had saved thousands of dollars on hotel rooms only to stay in an unsavoury area in Hong Kong, yet wasted hundreds of thousands on underperforming consultants and ended up with “result-less concerts”.

Pointing to an email that showed some of the accused planning for the church to pay Xtron a higher retainer, DPP Ong said they found excuses to put more church money into Xtron when the firm had cashflow problems, “never mind that the church would end up bearing the increased expenses”.

Kong disagreed, saying the injection of church funds was for legitimate reasons and that Xtron’s success would help fulfil the church’s objectives. Kong did not want the church to directly fund Ms Ho’s career as he felt it would defeat the aim of reaching out to non-Christians in the secular space.

The trial continues.