SINGAPORE: City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee had asked for name cards stating he was the managing director of Xtron Productions, it was revealed in court on Monday (Aug 25).
But his co-accused and the church's deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng told him the title – as a top position in the company – represented decision-making capabilities, and this could throw up issues with related-party transactions.
Tan suggested it was safer to keep Kong's title as consultant.
This was revealed in an email dated January 2006, used by the prosecution in its continuing bid to show that Xtron was a shell company controlled by the church and being used to funnel church monies to finance the secular pop music career of Kong's wife Sun Ho. Ms Ho's pop music was part of a church-approved bid to spread the Gospel, and Xtron was Ms Ho's artiste management firm at the time.
Kong told the court that he had no intention of being appointed managing director of Xtron. He only asked for the title as he felt a senior position would help his negotiations with American music producers on Ms Ho's debut English music album, he said.
Kong and Tan are among six church leaders in the dock for allegedly misusing millions of church monies.
WHO APPOINTED THE XTRON DIRECTORS?
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong also produced several emails to show how Kong and his team were responsible for deciding who the Xtron directors would be.
Mr Ong charged that the directors were chosen because they were in line with the church's vision of the Crossover Project, and that they would lend an appearance of credibility to decisions made that were, in actual fact, made by Kong and his team.
Kong denied this, saying he could only nominate or suggest people for the role, and that he did not give final approval on decisions concerning the financing of Crossover Project.
He has maintained that Xtron was an independent, commercial entity operating at arm's length from the church.
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