9 May 2015 - Celebrated a close and long time friend's 60th birthday and did not get round to writing the blog. Wonderful occasion to see him with his lovely wife and 3 bright kids at the party! Many more happy returns to him and the family!!
1. "CHC Trial: Xtron loan repayment never factored in: DPP Danson Cheong - The Straits Times May 09, 2015
SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) loaned $13 million to Xtron over two years - but repayment of the loan was never formally documented in the company's cash flows. Former CHC finance manager Serina Wee, 38, conceded this in court yesterday, during her 10th day on the stand in the long-running trial.
Xtron was the company that managed the music career of Ms Ho Yeow Sun, a pop singer and the wife of founding CHC pastor Kong Hee, 50. Wee and Kong are among six church leaders accused of misusing church money to bankroll Ms Ho's secular music career. They are charged with channelling $50 million from the church building fund into sham bond investments and covering up the misuse.
These investments included the $13 million Xtron bonds, entered into by CHC in August 2007 and which were due for payment two years later. Xtron had intended to use the money to pay for the production of Ms Ho's United States album and then repay the debt with album proceeds.
But the prosecution highlighted Xtron's cash-flow spreadsheets and noted that repayment of the "substantial amount" was never factored in.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong asked Wee, who was responsible for the company's accounts, why this was so. "If you say it was important to repay the bonds upon maturity because Xtron has real obligations... why is it not keyed into your cash flow?"
Wee, who was calm and composed despite the grilling, said the debt was "just administratively" not keyed in. Later, she told the court that church leaders had "informally assessed" the bond liabilities, but these were never put into a "formal spreadsheet"."
Otherwise KNOWN as the 'Serena Wee's Sideshow', the CHC trial has cost the state millions of dollars and probably the same if NOT MORE for the defendants. As to how the defendants will be able to PAY for their hefty legal fees, unless their lawyers are charitable and decide to waive or give a BIG DISCOUNT to these 'men of CHC'. That is another matter for the press to keep up this farcical show.
My hope is still the Judge will pass down the just sentence after this long open trial and bring this infamous saga to a close. With some consequences!
2. ""They starved us and threw the dead overboard": Victim - The Star/Asia News Network May 09, 2015
Death, hunger and torture were all part of Bangladeshi national Mohd Rashid's arduous sea journey from Teknaf to Malaysia. Rashid, 26, was seeking work to support his family when a man offered him passage for a pittance.
With high hopes, he made the treacherous voyage with over 400 other men in a boat in the hope of finding work on foreign shores - but ended up half-starved and thousands of ringgit poorer. He was lucky. Some of those who made the trip with him died of sickness and starvation, and their bodies were tossed overboard."
Another MODERN day slavery case. Guessed some 'human being' will NEVER stop this 'inhuman' act as long as they are attracted to money and more money. In other words, men who are totally consumed by greed! Greed that will KNOW NO boundaries for them to do whatever they need to do to get the $$$$! Will they be trial for MURDER in those cases where the dead were simply just tossed overboard? And those who were starved to dead or as a result of complication arising from over-starving? Personally, I hope so. Much like the death sentence to be meted out to proved drug traffickers. Though it will be humane to carry out the death sentence quickly once passed! Unless there are incompetence investigators or the facts are so very muddy that no reasonable judge would have concluded the case against the defendants!
3. "Chinese company treats 6,400 employees to French holiday - Reuters May 09, 2015
China's Tiens Group Co. Ltd is treating more than half of its 12,000 employees to a four-day holiday in France and has booked up 140 hotels in the capital Paris as part of the package, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday. According to Le Parisien newspaper, the trip by the 6,400 strong group included a mass visit to the Louvre museum and they are expected to spend 13 million euros (S$20 million) in total. The spokeswoman said the company's chairman Li Jinyuan met Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday and "the group will be in Nice tomorrow and the day after"."
This ONE sure grabbed the EYE-BALLS of many who had NOT worked for a multi-national Chinese company! I still recalled my Chinese colleagues marvelling when we flew 200+ of them via business class to Maui, Hawaii, USA in 1995 for a week of celebration. We budgeted for about USD2-3m. Well, NOW many would be envious of this Chinese company's generosity and want to work for Chinese company as foreign MNCs in China cannot or no longer do such 'high visibility and big spending' incentive trips! Most are NOT even profitable in China anymore due to intense Chinese competitions!!
How time has moved on and things have changed. For the better for the Chinese. For the worst for the foreigners? Let's ponder over it over a cup of English tea?
1. "CHC Trial: Xtron loan repayment never factored in: DPP Danson Cheong - The Straits Times May 09, 2015
SINGAPORE - City Harvest Church (CHC) loaned $13 million to Xtron over two years - but repayment of the loan was never formally documented in the company's cash flows. Former CHC finance manager Serina Wee, 38, conceded this in court yesterday, during her 10th day on the stand in the long-running trial.
Xtron was the company that managed the music career of Ms Ho Yeow Sun, a pop singer and the wife of founding CHC pastor Kong Hee, 50. Wee and Kong are among six church leaders accused of misusing church money to bankroll Ms Ho's secular music career. They are charged with channelling $50 million from the church building fund into sham bond investments and covering up the misuse.
These investments included the $13 million Xtron bonds, entered into by CHC in August 2007 and which were due for payment two years later. Xtron had intended to use the money to pay for the production of Ms Ho's United States album and then repay the debt with album proceeds.
But the prosecution highlighted Xtron's cash-flow spreadsheets and noted that repayment of the "substantial amount" was never factored in.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christopher Ong asked Wee, who was responsible for the company's accounts, why this was so. "If you say it was important to repay the bonds upon maturity because Xtron has real obligations... why is it not keyed into your cash flow?"
Wee, who was calm and composed despite the grilling, said the debt was "just administratively" not keyed in. Later, she told the court that church leaders had "informally assessed" the bond liabilities, but these were never put into a "formal spreadsheet"."
Otherwise KNOWN as the 'Serena Wee's Sideshow', the CHC trial has cost the state millions of dollars and probably the same if NOT MORE for the defendants. As to how the defendants will be able to PAY for their hefty legal fees, unless their lawyers are charitable and decide to waive or give a BIG DISCOUNT to these 'men of CHC'. That is another matter for the press to keep up this farcical show.
My hope is still the Judge will pass down the just sentence after this long open trial and bring this infamous saga to a close. With some consequences!
2. ""They starved us and threw the dead overboard": Victim - The Star/Asia News Network May 09, 2015
Death, hunger and torture were all part of Bangladeshi national Mohd Rashid's arduous sea journey from Teknaf to Malaysia. Rashid, 26, was seeking work to support his family when a man offered him passage for a pittance.
With high hopes, he made the treacherous voyage with over 400 other men in a boat in the hope of finding work on foreign shores - but ended up half-starved and thousands of ringgit poorer. He was lucky. Some of those who made the trip with him died of sickness and starvation, and their bodies were tossed overboard."
Another MODERN day slavery case. Guessed some 'human being' will NEVER stop this 'inhuman' act as long as they are attracted to money and more money. In other words, men who are totally consumed by greed! Greed that will KNOW NO boundaries for them to do whatever they need to do to get the $$$$! Will they be trial for MURDER in those cases where the dead were simply just tossed overboard? And those who were starved to dead or as a result of complication arising from over-starving? Personally, I hope so. Much like the death sentence to be meted out to proved drug traffickers. Though it will be humane to carry out the death sentence quickly once passed! Unless there are incompetence investigators or the facts are so very muddy that no reasonable judge would have concluded the case against the defendants!
3. "Chinese company treats 6,400 employees to French holiday - Reuters May 09, 2015
China's Tiens Group Co. Ltd is treating more than half of its 12,000 employees to a four-day holiday in France and has booked up 140 hotels in the capital Paris as part of the package, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday. According to Le Parisien newspaper, the trip by the 6,400 strong group included a mass visit to the Louvre museum and they are expected to spend 13 million euros (S$20 million) in total. The spokeswoman said the company's chairman Li Jinyuan met Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday and "the group will be in Nice tomorrow and the day after"."
This ONE sure grabbed the EYE-BALLS of many who had NOT worked for a multi-national Chinese company! I still recalled my Chinese colleagues marvelling when we flew 200+ of them via business class to Maui, Hawaii, USA in 1995 for a week of celebration. We budgeted for about USD2-3m. Well, NOW many would be envious of this Chinese company's generosity and want to work for Chinese company as foreign MNCs in China cannot or no longer do such 'high visibility and big spending' incentive trips! Most are NOT even profitable in China anymore due to intense Chinese competitions!!
How time has moved on and things have changed. For the better for the Chinese. For the worst for the foreigners? Let's ponder over it over a cup of English tea?
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