City Harvest Church Founder Probed
Monday, 31st May 2010
18 individuals linked to the City Harvest Church (CHC), including church founder Pastor Kong Hee and his wife, Sun Ho are called up by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police. They are to assist in investigations, after receiving complaints alleging the misuse of church funds.
The police was looking into City Harvest Church financial transactions involving the possible falsification of accounts and criminal breach of trust amounting to millions of dollars which dated back a number of years. The authorities said that regular church activities and services for the congregation need not be disrupted during ongoing investigations, which is expected to take several months.
The police also raided the offices and homes of these individuals and brought back computers and financial records for investigations. The police were looking into some financial transactions among these individuals and related companies.
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Background: In 2007, Sun Ho announced that she would be "looking overseas" to further her career, moving to Los Angeles, Hollywood with her young son, Dayan Kong. Those three years in LA she was living the lavish lifestyle of a bona fide Hollywood celebrity. Renting a $28,000 per month Mediterranean style villa which boasted four structures, including accommodation for a butler, nanny, and maid. It also had a swimming pool and space for 11 cars. During that time, Ho collaborated with producer Wyclef Jean on the track "China Wine." The sexy music video was directed by Wayne Isham and featured Ho Sun and Tony Matterhorn.
City Harvest is one of the largest churches in Singapore, with a congregation of over 30,000 who regularly pack its venues at Jurong West and the Singapore Expo during Sunday sermons.