Blog

Syed Danial: Learn From City Harvest Church Episode – Be Wary Of Conmen Cloaked In Religiosity, Be Aware Of Religious Sensitivities Of Christians When Commenting On The Issue

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Yesterday had tea with an old dear friend. He Juz returned Fr a trip to Cambodia where he was attempting to help the Cham Muslims there.

Long story short. Some of the things he told me was shocking. How a person who encloaks himself with religiosity handles funds meant for orphans and madrasah.

Essentially a con artiste. Inter Alia he attempts to get unsuspected SG donors to buy land ostensibly to build madrasahs orphanages etc. Upon further investigation the exact land plot has already been donated as waqf. Money given to sponsor a slaughter goat as meal for the orphans, when checked, the orphans were eating nothing more than rice n curry with hardly any meat. The plan was to engage an English teacher to teach these orphans some English n other skills that would equip them with at least basic skills. When asked to interview the candidate (his sister) it was discovered she could hardly speak English at all.

There were many other instances.

I share this article coz it serves as a cautionary tale. There are those who Encloak themselves in religious clothes. But have hearts of wolves.

Once Amirul Mumineen Umar was meeting a sahabah. He asked whether there was some state affairs to discuss. When told it was a social visit he actually put out the light from a lantern. Because it was lit using resources from state funds.

Subhanallah. Such outstanding egs of waraa’ – scrupulousness.

Bros n sis we need to be careful in this age of so much fitaan. We really do not want to be bamboozled when we hand over our money. We must take reasonable care it goes to parties we can trust.

I know this brother personally. His character is beyond reproach. He’s planning to go again inshaAllah early next year. So InshaAllah I will be handing over my money to him. At least I can be assured inshaAllah it would reach the beneficiaries. If u want to, pl PM me. InshaAllah I will hand over 100% of what I receive to him. There will be no ‘admin charges’.

Final word. When commenting on the City Hrvest thing, a reminder we should bear in mind the religious sensitivities of our Christian friends.

Wallahualam.

Source: Syed Danial

October 22, 2015
All 6 In City Harvest Church Trial Found Guilty Of All Charges

The six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders have been found guilty of various charges of criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

CHC founder Kong Hee, his deputy Tan Ye Peng, former church accountant Serina Wee, former church finance manager Sharon Tan, former investment manager Chew Eng Han and former CHC board member John Lam were today convicted of three to 10 charges each.

All six are out on bail. The bail stood at S$1 million each for Kong Hee, Tan Ye Peng, John Lam and Chew Eng Han. The bail for Serina Wee and Sharon Tan was at $750,000 each. They are not allowed to travel.

Delivering his oral judgement this morning, Presiding Judge of the State Courts See Kee Oon said that all six were “inextricably tangled” in two conspiracies of misusing church Building Fund monies to buy sham bond investments to finance the Crossover Project — which aims to use the music of church co-founder and Kong’s wife Sun Ho to evangelise — and thereafter misusing make church funds to cover up the first amount to defraud auditors by falsifying accounts. More than S$50 million was found to have been misappropriated.

JC See found that while Tan Ye Peng, Chew, Wee, Sharon Tan and Lam had acted in trust of Kong’s leadership, it does not exonerate them. “No matter how pure the motives and how ingrained the trust in leaders, these do not exonerate the accused persons.”

While the extents of their involvement were distinct, Judicial Commissioner (JC) See said none could be excluded from their implication in the conspiracy.

He added: “They had convinced themselves morally and legally permissible to temporarily use money from CHC funds when they knew it was not.”

JC See said he could not accept that the accused persons genuinely believe sale of Ms Ho’s albums would generate enough to redeem the bonds, and therefore cannot accept their claims that they believed the bond investments were genuine.

He also found that use of Building Fund monies to finance the Crossover shows dishonesty, as the Crossover “was not for the purposes (the fund was meant for) since by (the accused persons’) own admission it was meant to service mission.”

The prosecution will have to file written submissions by Nov 6, while the defence will file mitigation pleas by Nov 13. Oral submissions to be delivered on Nov 20 at 9.30am.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

Shortly after the judgement, Ms Sun Ho issued a statement on CHC’s Facebook page saying that the CHC Management Board are “disappointed by the outcome”.

Following the verdict, Ms Ho said Kong Hee and the rest are “studying the judgement intently and will take legal advice from their respective lawyers”.

CHC’s operations will continue, with the new management and new Church Board that were introduced in 2012 running the church, said Ms Ho who called on the church to “stay on course with CHC 2.0”.

“God is making us stronger, purer and more mature as a congregation,” she said on behalf of the CHC Management Board.

Source: www.todayonline.com

October 21, 2015
2 Men Arrested For Performing ‘Obscene Act’ At Woodlands Town Garden

Police have arrested two men, aged 29 and 63, for their suspected involvement in a case of obscene act at Woodlands Town Garden.

At about 11.55pm on Saturday (Oct 17), officers from Jurong Division conducted operations in the area when they spotted the men performing an obscene act in public.

Both were placed under arrest, a statement from the police said on Monday.

First-time offenders found guilty of committing an obscene act in a public place, under Sec 294(a) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224 shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 3 months, or with fine, or with both, the statement from the Singapore Police Force said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

October 21, 2015
Two Pioneer Generation Singaporean Women Attacked Over Bench Spat

The conflict started over the use of a bench at a neighbourhood park.

But it quickly escalated into a vulgarity-laden quarrel, in which one elderly woman was punched and another shoved to the ground, causing her head to be injured, reported Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao yesterday.

Madam Lim Jin Lian, 83, and her friend, Madam Tan Ya Mei, 73, were attacked by a man in his 40s on Monday morning.

The women were part of an exercise group that meets every morning at a pavilion near Block 617, Hougang Avenue 8.

The attacker, who was described as muscular and tattooed, was sleeping on a bench near the group’s exercise spot.

The fight started when Madam Lim tried to wake him up.

She told Lianhe Wanbao: “He started spouting vulgarities at me, so I asked if anyone had a mobile phone so that I could call the police.

“Before I knew it, I was punched in the face and felt dizzy.

“And by the time I regained my senses, my friend was on the floor, with blood all over her head.”

Madam Tan was shoved when the attacker wanted to hit Madam Lim again and she tried to intervene.

Madam Tan told Wanbao: “I wanted to pull Madam Lim away from the attacker and I didn’t think that the man would actually push me.”

She said she started bleeding profusely because she lost her footing and fell headfirst on the stairs.

She was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was warded for observation to check if there were any blood clots in her brain.

The attacker escaped after he saw Madam Tan lying on the floor.

The two women, who have known each other for more than 20 years, have a close relationship.

APOLOGETIC

Madam Lim has been apologising continually for her friend’s injury.

She said: “I’m so grateful to my friend for stepping in and I feel so bad that she got injured.”

But Madam Tan shrugged it off, adding: “Madam Lim is already in her 80s, she probably couldn’t take another blow.”

A group of women in the exercise group decided to look for the aggressor after he escaped and tracked him down to a nearby coffee shop.

They took photos of him and called the police.

A police spokesman confirmed that they received a request for assistance at 7.15am on Monday.

A case of voluntarily causing hurt was established.

Investigations are ongoing.

“He started spouting vulgarities at me, so I asked if anyone had a mobile phone so that I could call the police. Before I knew it, I was punched in the face and felt dizzy.”

– Madam Lim Jin Lian, 83

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 21, 2015
Maid Gives Birth To Stillborn, Hides Body In Drawer At Employer’s House

A 33-year-old maid who gave birth to a dead baby boy and kept the body in a drawer at her employer’s house has been arrested.

The incident occurred on Monday (Oct 19) afternoon at a two-storey house along Lorong Ong Lye in Serangoon.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, said to be a maid from Indonesia, had complained to her employers that she was not feeling well.

She was taken to a clinic and subsequently referred to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for tests, where a doctor suspected that she had recently given birth.

Upon further questioning, the woman admitted to having delivered a baby boy who died on birth and having hidden the body in a drawer in a second-floor room at her employers’ house.

When contacted, a police spokesman said it was alerted to the incident at 1.22pm and discovered the baby’s body in the drawer.

The baby was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

The spokesman said the woman was arrested for concealment of birth by secret disposal of a dead body.

The Straits Times understands that the baby was born premature at five months old.

Shin Min said the woman has been working for the family – an elderly couple and their daughter, her husband and her 11-year-old son – for more than a year. According to the report, the maid is married with two sons.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

October 21, 2015