City Harvest Church is being investigated by the Government on the back of complaints that it has misused church funds.
The office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC) and the police's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) said in a statement yesterday that they are investigating some financial transactions involving several individuals and companies connected to City Harvest Church.
The COC said that it got complaints of City Harvest Church misusing church funds, and contacted the CAD as the investigations involve firms that are not charities or church subsidiaries.
It added that the inquiry is not related to, nor sparked by, the church's March announcement that it bought a $310 million stake in Suntec Singapore.
"The two are separate matters," said a COC spokesman.
The Suntec deal led to debates on whether religious groups should be allowed to go into business using donations.
In March, the COC said it was seeking clarifications from the church on the Suntec deal.
my paper understands that the complaints being investigated now were of incidents that occurred many years ago.作者: 美好的生活 时间: 2010-6-2 18:23
Yesterday, CAD officers visited the offices of individuals and firms under investigation and secured records and accounts. They also spoke to the church's founder, Reverend Kong Hee, and 16 other people involved in handling its finances.
Its services, congregations and religious activities would not be disrupted by the investigations, the CAD and COC said.
Earlier high-profile probes by the CAD into major charities' financial irregularities that of National Kidney Foundation in 2005, and Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre in 2008 took at least three months. Both charities' chiefs were jailed for offences related to the irregularities.
In an e-mail to church members, City Harvest executive pastor Derek Dunn said that the church is "cooperating fully with the investigation of the allegations". When contacted, the church declined to comment.
Sales executive Gavin Png, 30, a City Harvest member since 1997, said: "I have faith that the church is clean. I think it has been very forthcoming about its use of funds."
