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Govt disagrees with court decision on City Harvest case, will amend CBT law: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — The Government will soon amend the law on criminal breach of trust (CBT) in the wake of the apex court's decision to uphold the reduced sentences of six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Monday (Feb 5).

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam reiterated the Government’s disagreement with Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the reduced sentences of six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders. Photo: Parliament screengrab, TODAY file photos

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam reiterated the Government’s disagreement with Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the reduced sentences of six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders. Photo: Parliament screengrab, TODAY file photos

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SINGAPORE — The Government will soon amend the law on criminal breach of trust (CBT) in the wake of the apex court’s decision to uphold the reduced sentences of six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Monday (Feb 5). He stressed that it is “common sense” that senior officers in an organisation found to have committed CBT should be liable for more severe punishments compared with an ordinary employee.

Delivering a ministerial statement, Mr Shanmugam reiterated the Government’s disagreement with Court of Appeal’s decision. “There can really be no question about this… The Government believes that the sentences are too low,” he said.

He added: "If you are a senior officer, director in the organisation, you are in a position of greater trust, you have considerable authority to make decisions in relation to the organisation's assets. If you abuse that trust, you should be more culpable, and should be liable for more severe punishments."

In their verdict released last Thursday, the apex court had agreed with the High Court's 2-1 majority ruling last April that an "agent" under Section 409 of the Penal Code (aggravated CBT) does not include directors of corporations, governing board members, key officers of charities or officers of societies. The latest ruling means Section 409 has been wrongly interpreted on some occasions for the past 40 years.

Until last April, the existing position in Singapore has been based on a High Court decision in a case involving Tay Choo Wah and the Public Prosecutor, which was heard between 1974 and 1976. The ruling then found that directors who misappropriate the property of a company or organisation entrusted to them are liable for a more serious offence under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

"The Court of Appeal's decision means there is now a lacuna in the law," Mr Shanmugam said on Tuesday.

While ordinary employees convicted of CBT may be punished with a mandatory jail term of up to 15 years with a fine, directors convicted of the same can only be jailed up to seven years and/or fined.

Noting that the court itself had "acknowledged this gap in the law", Mr Shanmugam said it is now "up to Parliament to amend the law".

"That, we should do, and soon. We will ensure that legislation provides for higher penalties for directors and other senior officers who commit criminal breaches of trust," he said, adding that the authorities hope to consider this together with other wide-ranging amendments to the Penal Code.

A committee undertaking the review — including amendments to the criminalisation of attempted suicide, marital immunity for rape, punishments for sex offenders, among other aspects of the Penal Code — aims to complete its work this year, before putting up recommendations for public feedback.

Mr Shanmugam said that he is aware of public dissatisfaction with the verdict.

Citing comments online that the judges "let off the rich" and some of them were "lenient" because they are Christians, Mr Shanmugam said this was "not right", and Singaporeans should respect the court's decision in the CHC case — whether or not they agree with it.

"Judges should not be personally attacked, their integrity impugned, just because people do not agree with their decision. There may be unhappiness. People are entitled to disagree with their decision. But let's not attack the judges," he said.

OUTSTANDING CASES
Members of Parliament (MPs) who wanted clarifications following the ministerial statement asked, among other things, why the law was not reviewed earlier and how outstanding cases would be dealt with before the review is completed.

Mr Shanmugam replied that the ruling in Tay Choo Wah had been “consistently applied by the courts for four decades”. 

“No doubts or uncertainty were expressed by our courts, prosecution or defence… There was no suggestion that the law was in need of any review (then)… Parliament does not legislate in vain,” he said.

CBT cases that are already before the court will have to take into account the apex court’s decision.

Chua Chu Kang MP Yee Chia Hsing asked if the review would consider penalties on beneficiaries of CBT proceeds, such as CHC co-founder Ms Ho Yeow Sun in this case. 

The six former church leaders, including Ms Ho’s husband and co-founder Kong Hee, had been convicted of misusing S$24 million of church building funds on sham bonds between 2007 and 2009, mainly to further Ms Ho’s pop music career, and then misusing another S$26.6 million to cover up the first amount.

Beneficiaries who receive criminally derived proceeds without the appropriate knowledge does not automatically become a criminal, Mr Shanmugam said.

“Supposing the person took the money and donated it to a charity, does the recipient commit a criminal offence? I think we need to be careful. The law is drafted widely enough to deal with people who act with criminal intention… (or) misuse of property,” he said. “Knowing receipt of property to the extent that it needs to be criminalised, you will find it in the law.”

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