SINGAPORE: Taking the stand for the 13th day, City Harvest Church
finance manager Sharon Tan on Tuesday (Sep 30) reiterated that her main
concern was about "related party transactions" in the church's
investments. The 39-year-old said so in response to questions from her
lawyer, Senior Counsel Kannan Ramesh, during re-examination.
Tan
is one of six leaders charged with misusing millions of dollars of
church funds to boost the career of singer Sun Ho, the wife of church
founder Kong Hee. They are accused of doing so through sham bond
investments in two companies, production house Xtron and glassware
manufacturer Firna, and then covering them up.
On Tuesday, the
court was shown an email dated May 2009, where fund manager Chew Eng
Han, who is also one of the accused, had proposed a plan for the
redemption of Xtron bonds.
This involved the church paying
Xtron a large amount as advance rental for it to secure premises for
church services and activities. The advance rental could then contribute
towards redemption of the bonds.
Under the plan, part of the
advance rental would also be used to buy the artiste management rights
for Sun Ho from Ultimate Assets, a company owned by Indonesian
businessman and church member, Wahju Hanafi.
Ho's recording
and launching of secular music albums was part of the church's Crossover
Project, which aimed to evangelise and influence those who would never
choose to step into a church.
Tan had understood that any
links between the project and the church would have to be discreet for
the project to be "as secular as possible" so that it would not be
jeopardised. As such, she had concerns that the advance rental from the
church that was used to buy the rights from Ultimate Assets, would be
seen by auditors.
Tan said that this may give rise to the issue
of related party transactions, which would lead to disclosure of the
links between the church and companies such as Ultimate Assets.
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