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Church Leader On Trial
The leader of a church called City Harvest is on trial in Singapore for misappropriating church funds earmarked for the production of a pop music album.
Kong Hee, the founder of City Harvest Church, launched something called the Crossover Project in order to record and distribute secular music as a means of promoting his religious activities.
The first artist was to be Kong’s wife, Sun Ho.
Former Fugee Wyclef Jean was brought in around 2006 to help produce the English-language album.
After taking his fee and spending money on the production, he demanded a 50-50 split on net profits and more funding, according to ChannelAsia News.
Kong thought Jean’s requests were unreasonable and, as negotiations faltered, Jean left the project in 2008.
The album was never completed or released, and other members of the church accused Kong of losing money. In court, Kong said he had done no wrong because he had been “ignorant” of the financial dealings involved with the project.