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Kong wanted MD title on Xtron name card, court hears

SINGAPORE — City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee had asked for name cards stating that he was the managing director of artiste management company Xtron Productions, the court heard yesterday.

SINGAPORE — City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee had asked for name cards stating that he was the managing director of artiste management company Xtron Productions, the court heard yesterday.

But his co-accused and the church’s deputy senior pastor, Tan Ye Peng, told Kong that the title represented decision-making capabilities and this could throw up issues with related-party transactions.

Tan suggested that it was safer to maintain Kong’s title as consultant.

The name-card episode, which was revealed in a January 2006 e-mail, was used by the prosecution in its continuing bid to show that Xtron was a shell company controlled by the church and was being used to funnel church monies to finance the secular pop music career of Kong’s wife, Ms Ho Yeow Sun.

Her pop music was part of the Crossover Project, a church-approved bid to spread the gospel, and Xtron was Ms Ho’s artiste management firm then.

Kong told the court he had asked for the title only because he felt a senior position would help his negotiations with American music producers on Ms Ho’s debut English music album.

Kong and Tan are among six City Harvest Church leaders in the dock for allegedly misusing millions of church monies.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong yesterday also charged that Kong and Tan had sought out auditor Foong Daw Ching — whom Kong called a good friend — to use him to test if their plans, in relationto the church’s Xtron bond investment, would pass scrutiny in the church’s year-end audit overseen by another partner in Mr Foong’s accounting firm Baker Tilly TFW.

The accused presented an incomplete picture of the goings-on between the church and Xtron, Mr Ong said.

Kong denied this, saying Mr Foong was no pushover.

The auditor could have asked more questions if anything was unclear and Mr Foong did not say the bond transactions were a sham, Kong maintained. The trial continues. Kimberly Spykerman and Neo Chai Chin

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