SINGAPORE - In the final legal chapter of the City Harvest Church (CHC) saga, a five-judge Court of Appeal on Thursday (Feb 1) dismissed a bid by prosecutors to reinstate the original convictions for church founder Kong Hee and five others convicted of misusing millions in church funds, which would have meant longer jail terms for them.
The decision meant that Kong, 53; deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 45; former finance manager Serina Wee, 41; and former finance committee member John Lam, 50, will continue serving out their existing and reduced jail terms of between 1½ and 3½ years which began in April last year.
Former finance manager Sharon Tan, 42, has completed her seven-month jail term.
Former fund manager Chew Eng Han, 57, facing a jail term of three years and four months, has been out on bail pending the court's decision.
He was allowed his request to start serving his sentence on Feb 22, after the Chinese New Year holiday.
The decision, which hinged on the interpretation of provisions in the Penal Code governing criminal breach of trust offences, has wider implications for future misappropriation cases.
Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, in reading the decision, said that if there is any gap in the law, the shaping of the remedy should be left to Parliament.
"A hard case should not be allowed to make bad law," he said, noting that the accused are still serving substantial jail terms. The other judges included Judge of Appeal Judith Prakash, and Justices Belinda Ang, Quentin Loh and Chua Lee Ming.
The court said a review of the law was “not only essential” but also “long overdue”.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said that it would work with relevant government ministries "on the appropriate revisions to the Penal Code, to ensure that company directors and other persons in similar positions of trust and responsibility are subject to appropriate punishments if they commit criminal breach of trust".
(From left) Chew Eng Han, Tan Ye Peng, Kong Hee, John Lam and Serina Wee. ST ILLUSTRATION: CEL GULAPA
The prosecution had raised the point of law to the apex court in August last year, in a rarely invoked procedure known as a criminal reference.
The prosecution argued that the City Harvest six ought to have been convicted of the more aggravated charge of CBT as agents, which provides for heavier punishment, rather than plain CBT.
CoA upholds High Court's decision that the 6 leaders of CHC charged for having conspired to commit the aggravated offence of CBT as agent cannot be convicted of that offence. Read case summary https://t.co/yOUPj7u4Od — Supreme Court Singapore (@SupremeCourtSG) February 1, 2018
The six were originally charged and convicted - after a marathon 142-day trial that started in 2013 - of CBT as agents, under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
They were handed jail terms ranging from 21 months to eight years in November 2015.
The six appealed against their convictions and sentences, while the prosecution appealed for harsher sentences.
Deciding on the appeals last April, the High Court, in a split 2-1 decision, cleared the six of CBT as agents and found them guilty of plain CBT under Section 406.
Two of the three judges on the panel ruled that Section 409 applies only to "professional agents"; and directors such as the CHC six cannot be considered "agents" under Section 409. This resulted in their sentences being reduced.
On Thursday, the five judges sitting on the Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the High Court majority’s view.
In a 152-page written judgment, the Court of Appeal said there was a “coherent and well-established line of authority” going back almost two centuries that an “agent” under this provision must be someone who is in the business of providing agency services.
The court acknowledged that, in the modern context, where directors of companies and officers of charities and societies play key roles, “there does not appear to be a good policy reason to ignore their heightened culpability and the enhanced potential for harm were they to commit CBT”.
In the dock, Kong and Tan Ye Peng did not display any emotion on hearing the verdict. Lam and Wee exchanged looks, smiling slightly.
Ms Sharon Tan was teary eyed and hugged supporters as she left the courtroom.
Later, her lawyer, Mr Paul Seah, told reporters that she was very grateful that "the journey is over".
"She is looking forward to being reunited with her family," he added.
Chew said he had no strong feelings over the court's decision as "it came out as we had hoped for".
"It never feels good to come to court," he told reporters.
Mr Kenny Low, husband of Serina Wee, said the family is happy that this saga is finally coming to a closure".
"Now I can tell the kids a date that mummy is coming home," he said.
Some church members came out teary-eyed while others embraced one another.
A 40-year-old female church member, who declined to be named, said: "We are really relieved and happy."
Earlier on Thursday, a queue to attend the final verdict of the City Harvest Church case in the apex court had started at 3.30am. By 7am, close to 60 people had joined the queue, despite many being told that all entry passes had been given out.
Ms Shirley Yeo, 76, a staff member at the church, joined the queue at 4.30am and was the 25th person in line.
"We are praying that this verdict will be favourable. The jail term is too harsh. God-willing, it should not be lengthened and they should be set free," she said.
She added that service in the church has been going on as usual and members have been praying consistently for their pastors.
Queue outside Supreme Court for the City Harvest Church case
Housewife Shirley Tan, 65, was visibly upset when she arrived at 6.15am and could not obtain a pass to enter as they had all already been given out.
She had turned up at the State Courts at 5.30am only to realise she was at the wrong location.
"I want to see Pastor Kong. I love him so much. City Harvest Church is my second home," she said.
Singapore’s highest court has maintained the reduced jail terms of the six former leaders of City Harvest Church (CHC) in the long-running case, less than a year after the High Court slashed their sentences.
The ruling by the five-judge Court of Appeal delivered on Thursday (1 February) dismisses the appeal by prosecutors to reinstate the original longer jail terms for church founder Kong Hee and his five former deputies. With the decision, the former church leaders need only serve sentences ranging from seven months to three years six months.
The crux of the sentencing centred around the legal interpretation of criminal breach of trust (CBT) in relation to the roles played by the CHC ex-leaders.
In a decision delivered to a packed courtroom, Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang said the Court of Appeal agreed that the meaning of “agent” within the relevant section of the penal code referred to a professional agent who offered commercial services to the community at large, which was not what the six were.
The judge added that it was not up to the court to alter the language of the provision as it was a “legislative function that belongs exclusively to Parliament”.
City Harvest Church former leaders (top left to bottom right) former finance manager Serina Wee, former fund manager Chew Eng Han, former finance manager Sharon Tan, founder Kong Hee, former pastor Tan Ye Peng and former treasurer John Lam. (File photo: Reuters) More
The prosecution, represented by Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair and Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong, had argued that the jail terms should reflect the more serious charge of CBT as agents. As such, it appealed for stiffer sentences for CHC founder Kong Hee, 53, deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 45, former finance committee member John Lam, 50, former fund manager Chew Eng Han, 57, former finance managers Serina Wee, 41, and Sharon Tan, 42.
Of the prosecution seeking a broader definition of the word “agent”, the judge said that too broad a definition would encompass too many officers, including “low-level workers who buy office supplies for company”, and it was “unlikely” that such people should be subject to the same enhanced penalties.
Said Justice Phang: “A closer examination of Section 409 indicates that the perceived injustice and ‘gaps’ in the law arising from the dated nature of the provision will not only remain but will even be exacerbated if it is construed as liberally as the prosecution proposes.”
The six former CHC leaders were convicted of misappropriating some $50 million in church funds to fund the pop music career of Kong’s wife, Ho Yeow Sun, also popularly known as Sun Ho, in a church mission after a protracted 142-day trial.
They were found guilty of criminal breach of trust as agents and falsifying accounts and given sentences of between 21 months and eight years in November 2015.
However, all appealed against their convictions and sentences and had their jail terms reduced to between seven months and three years six months after they were found guilty of a lesser form of CBT by the High Court in April last year. One of the ex-leaders, Sharon Tan, has completed her sentence.
For Thursday’s ruling, Tan Ye Peng, Kong Hee, John Lam and Serina Wee arrived dressed in purple prison overalls. The three men sported crew cuts, with Kong Hee’s hair looking all white.
They smiled and waved to supporters in the gallery and also chatted among themselves.
Kong was also seen giving the thumbs up to people in the gallery. Ho was not present in court.
When approached by the media after the hearing, Chew, who came to court with his wife and daughter, told reporters: “It came out as we hoped for”. He added that he had “no strong feelings” after all that he had been through.
Story Continues
Singapore’s court to rule on City Harvest Church criminal reference today
Investigations on the six City Harvest Church leaders began in 2010 and the trial began nearly five years ago. — TODAY file pic SINGAPORE, Feb 1 — More than five months after it heard prosecutors’ arguments against the High Court’s decision to impose shorter jail sentences on six former City Harvest Church leaders, the Court of Appeal will today deliver its highly anticipated verdict.
The decision could shed light on whether there is a gap in Singapore’s criminal breach of trust (CBT) laws, such that heads of organisations who commit the crime could get off more lightly than their subordinates. It could also mark the conclusion of the marathon case, for which investigations began in 2010 and the trial began nearly five years ago.
A long queue formed outside the Supreme Court this morning for tickets to the courtroom, with some waiting in line from as early as 3.30am.
All 55 tickets for the public were snapped up by 7am.
In August last year, the prosecution led by Deputy Attorney-General Hri Kumar Nair had argued before five-judge apex court — Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and Judith Prakash, and Justices Belinda Ang, Quentin Loh and Chua Lee Ming — that the High Court’s split 2-1 decision was wrong.
The jail terms of the six individuals — including church founder Kong Hee — were slashed to between seven months and 3.5 years by the High Court in April last year, down from between 21 months and eight years earlier imposed by the State Courts.
This was because the High Court convicted the six leaders of CBT under Section 406 of the Penal Code, which carries a lower maximum jail term of seven years, instead of Section 409 of CBT by an agent, which carries a higher maximum jail term of 20 years.
Of the six individuals, one — former finance manager Sharon Tan, 41 — has already completed her seven-month sentence, while the church’s former fund manager Chew Eng Han, 57, is out on bail pending the court’s decision.
Kong, 52, his former deputy Tan Ye Peng, 44, former finance manager Serina Wee, 40, and former finance committee member John Lam, 49, are serving their jail terms.
They were convicted of misusing S$24 million of church building funds on sham bonds between 2007 and 2009, mainly to further the pop music career of church co-founder and Kong’s wife Ho Yeow Sun, then misusing another S$26.6 million to cover up the first amount.
In the prosecution’s criminal reference to raise a question of law, Nair had argued that the High Court’s decision upended a long-held principle of having heads of organisations who commit CBT face the harshest penalties available.
Nair had argued that the High Court had not defined “agent” based on previous decisions, in Singapore or elsewhere.
The two majority judges found that an “agent” under Section 409 of the Penal Code must refer to “professional agents” who offer their agency services as a “commercial activity” which Kong and his accomplices did not.
“As interpreted by the majority, Section 409 makes a mockery of the law,” Nair had said.
How the High Court reduced the jail terms of the six former City Harvest Church leaders in April 2017
Church founder Kong Hee: From eight years to 3.5 years
Former deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng: From 5.5 years to three years and two months
Former church fund manager Chew Eng Han: From six years to three years and four months
Former finance manager Serina Wee: From five years to 2.5 years
Former finance committee member John Lam: From three years to 18 months
Former finance manager Sharon Tan: From 21 months to seven months. — TODAY
