Judge: Kang Xi and others have the luxury of "preaching" the practice

Kang Xi and others insist that they believe that the English album of Ho Yiu-shan (pictured), which is favored by big-name American producers, will sell a full house of popularity, and then the income will be enough to redeem the bonds. (File photo)

(This article is singapore news)

In its five-day appeal, division III made it clear that the crux of the case was whether the bonds were genuinely invested and whether the defendants had dishonest intentions. In addition, the judge also considered whether the legal provisions of the law on dishonesty that the defendant was found to be established were appropriate.

Doesn't the City Harvest Church have cheaper ways of proselytizing, such as advertising in the media or running KPop concerts?

When hearing the appeal of the church pastor Kang Xi and his deputy for dishonesty of public funds, Judge Chen Cheng'an pointed out that the large religious organization could actually spread the gospel through newspapers, TELEVISION advertisements or KPop (Korean pop music) concerts at a cost of less than 24 million yuan.

Founding Pastor Kang Xi (52 years old) and his deputy, through the church, subscribed to a total of 24 million yuan worth of bonds from the two companies, and conspired to embezzle the church construction fund to build an English record for Kang Xi's wife, Ho Yiu Shan (46), to enter the United States, in order to use her pop music to carry out the missionary "crossover plan".

Yesterday, when the prosecution urged the Three Divisions hearing appeals to increase the sentences imposed on all six accused, Judge Chan Cheng-on, one of the Three Divisions, said there were many ways to achieve missionary purposes. "Through Ho Yiu-shan singing, KPop can be hired at a lower cost, and Kang Xi can go to the concert to preach." You can attract as many people as you can... You can buy an expensive residential unit, ride in first class cabin, and spend all your money through Ho Yiu-shan's way, which is another way, completely in the name of missionary. ”

Judge Chen Cheng'an believes that the practice of Kang Xi and others in this regard is "very extravagant".

Pastors Kang Xi and Chen Yiping (43), Fund Manager Zhou Yinghan (56), Fund Manager Zhou Yinghan (56), Crossover Program Executive Huang Yuyin (39), and Lin Lingheng (48), who is a member of the Management Committee and a member of the Management Committee, broke the 24 million yuan construction fund to produce albums for He Yao from 2007 to 2009 under the guise of the church's investment in Xtron Productions and the bonds of the glassware factory The First National Glassware.

Chen Yiping, Zhou Yinghan, Huang Yuyin and the church's financial manager Chen Shaoyun (41) later embezzled 26.6 million yuan of public funds to create the illusion that the bonds were redeemed, and in the process cheated the auditors with false accounts.

The defence appealed the conviction and sentence, while the prosecution demanded that the High Court increase the sentences of the six defendants to between five and 12 years, of which Kang Xi, Chen Yiping, Zhou Yinghan and Huang Yuyin should each be sentenced to 11 to 12 years.

<h3>Defense lawyers said there was no self-enrichment in the process</h3>

The Three Divisions, consisting of Judges Cho, Wu Bili and Chan Cheng-an, made it clear in their five-day appeals that the crux of the case was whether the bonds were genuinely invested and whether the defendants had dishonest intentions. In addition, the judge also considered whether the legal provisions of the law on dishonesty that the defendant was found to be established were appropriate. If they had not taken advantage of the embezzlement of public funds based on their business relationship, Kang Xi and others may have their sentences commuted.

Synthesizing the statements made by Kang Xi and other defendants on appeal, they used church funds to promote missionary purposes, which does not constitute dishonesty. They point out that they all sincerely believe that the practice is beneficial to the church, but even if the wrong use of the church fund does not mean that there is dishonest intention. In addition, Kang Xi and others insisted that the bonds and other transactions involved in the case were real, and they believed that Ho Yao Shan, who was favored by big-name producers in the United States, could sell her English album to a full house, and the income would be enough to redeem the bonds. They did not enrich themselves in the process, let alone cause losses to the church.

<h3>The third division will announce the verdict at a later date as soon as possible</h3>

Yesterday, lawyers criticized the prosecution for taking only one-sided evidence to convict their clients, and for wavering around on whether the defendants had enriched themselves or not, "moving the gantry to meet their (the prosecution's) needs."

However, the prosecution urged the Third Division to dismiss the defence's appeal to overturn the guilty verdict on the ground that the six defendants controlled the Jiantang Fund that subscribed to the bonds and that there was no legal liability for the transaction, and that the alleged investment was nothing more than a cover for embezzlement. In addition, the prosecution attempted to persuade the three divisions to severely punish the defendants by abusing the trust of their members and deceiving auditors and lawyers in the case of dishonesty, which had the highest amount of money in the history of the local charity.

After the prosecution and defence had completed their submissions, the Three Divisions indicated that time was needed to study the extensive evidence, but that the verdict would be pronounced as soon as possible.