The laws of men has apparently upended the laws of God, of which six City Harvest Church (CHC) figures claim to act on behalf.
Three years since Pastor Kong Hee and five other CHC leaders faced the court to answer for the misappropriation of church funds, all of them are now being sent off prison, with varying durations.
The six megachurch leaders accused were found guilty of all charges involving a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust. They were guilty of misappropriating over $50 million in church funds, as well as falsifying accounts.
The charismatic 51-year-old church founder will soon be doing his sermons in prison for eight years as the most culpable offender, according to various media reports.
CHC’s ex-finance committee member John Lam got a three-year sentence; ex-finance managers Sharon Tan and Serina Wee received 21 months and five years respectively; ex-fund manager Chew Eng Han gets six years; deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng gets five years and six months.
Prior to the sentencing, Kong’s lawyer submitted a letter — signed by 173 of the CHC’s current executive members — pleading the judge for leniency. The letter appealed for the judge to spare jail terms for the convicted. The letter obviously did not move the judge away from sending all six of them to serve time in prison.
The thousands of prayers lodged towards the outcome of the case probably kinda worked — the prosecution actually asked for stiffer sentences for all of them. It was suggested that Kong, Tan Ye Peng, Wee and Chew receive 11 to 12 years in prison each.
Photo: Kong Hee Facebook page
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