SINGAPORE: The trial involving six leaders of City Harvest Church continued on Wednesday, with one of the accused saying that he had instructed his co-accused to draft a "secret letter".
Chew Eng Han, who left the church recently citing differences with the management, had asked Serina Wee to draft the letter between the church and Firna, also known as PT The First National Glassware.
On Wednesday, the court heard how Mr Hanafi tried to get a loan from the church. A requirement was that the church could convert the bonds issued by Mr Hanafi into shares in his company Firna, if he failed to pay back.
However, Mr Hanafi's father-in-law, who held 20 per cent of the company, was reluctant.
On Wednesday, the court heard that in an email dated September 6, 2008, Chew told Wee to draft a letter stating that the church agrees to sell back the shares to Mr Hanafi and his father-in-law at a nominal value of US$1 in the event that the bonds were converted into shares.
Chew said the letter was needed as the father-in-law would not sign the shareholders' consent for the church to convert the bonds into shares.
He also instructed Wee to pass the letter to Mr Hanafi so as to get his father-in-law's signature.
Accused John Lam and Tan Ye Peng were included in the email chain.
In another email sent on the same day, Wee asked Chew if he could speak with the board and Lam to get their agreement on this. She added it will be "troublesome to explain" to the church trustees.
Chew later replied that Lam will sign the document and no trustee will be involved.
When asked, Mr Hanafi denied knowledge of this letter. He added that his father-in-law had never asked for such a letter to be drafted.
Chew and Wee, along with the church's founder Kong Hee, and three others are contesting allegations that they misused S$24 million of church building funds to boost singer Sun Ho's career.
Four of the six also face allegations that they used another S$26 million to cover up the misuse through "sham bond investments".
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