City Harvest Church members may raise money for those accused of fraud
inSing.com - 1 August 2012 2:26 PM | Updated 2:40 PM
City  Harvest Church members who want to give money to help offset the legal  and court fees of their founder Kong Hee may now do so in their own  capacity.
Mr Aries Zulkarnain, the church’s executive pastor, has given his consent to this.
Members may also raise money for the other five people involved in the corruption scandal.
Kong  Hee, 47, and five other senior members of the mega church have been  charged in court with misusing millions in church funds. Some of them  have also been charged with falsifying accounts.
During an annual  general meeting held on 29 July, the church voted in four new members  to its 10-member board. Its online site reported that the new members to  the board are Mr Aries Zulkarnian, Mr Rick Chan, a partner at  accounting firm Mazars LLP, Mr Lee Tat Haur, a senior associate at DDA  Resources Architects in Singapore and an adjunct lecturer, and Dr Victor  Lim, who works in the Ministry of Education. 
They will replace  the three positions that were suspended after the original appointment  holders were charged in court, as well as a board member who is not  involved in the corruption case, but chose to step down.
The  Straits Times reported that during the meeting, the executive members of  the board indicated their support for their leaders. Three members  suggested that the board should ask the Commissioner of Charity to allow  the church to use its funds to pay for the lawyer and court fees for  the six people embroiled in the court case. They also said that if their  request is rejected, they will raise money through the members.
Mr  Zulkarnian responded by saying that while the church cannot use its  funds to help the six, individual members are free to raise money for  them as long as they adhere to the relevant laws and regulations.
At  the meeting, attended by more than 560 people at its Jurong West  premises, members received copies of the church’s “progress report”. The  report showed that the number of people attending the services has  increased since news of the scandal broke. The figure was 22,049 in 2010  and 20,619 in 2011. However, last month, the congregation size was  21,084.
In addition, an executive member said that “due to the  surrounding circumstances, the finance department and the auditors have  to prepare their accounts and carry out their audit in the Commercial  Affairs Department”.
The auditing is expected to be completed in  three months and a special conference will be organised to present the  financial report.
In the latest development on Tuesday (31 July),  the court has granted Kong Hee permission to travel overseas for his  pastoral engagements, and doubled his bail to S$1 million. The City  Harvest site showed that he may be travelling to the US and Taiwan.