SINGAPORE: Former fund manager of City Harvest Church Chew Eng Han has vowed he won't return to the church unless there is a change of current leadership.
"I won't go back, unless the whole leadership is removed - the current leadership," said Chew.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia on Feb 12 before he was due to begin his jail term, Chew insisted that his friends and family did not doubt him, adding that his family was staying "relatively strong" despite the long-running saga.
Six former church leaders including Chew and founder Kong Hee were convicted of criminal breach of trust in 2015 for misappropriating church funds to pay for the Crossover Project.
The project is aimed at evangelising through the pop music career of Kong's wife Sun Ho, who remains heavily involved with the church as co-founder.
Chew said he left City Harvest in 2013 - the year the trial began - and is now part of a small fellowship that meets every Thursday. It is not clear if he had left before or after the trial began.
AdvertisementAdvertisementChew, who is the only one of the six who has yet to start his sentence, was to surrender himself on Thursday (Feb 22) to begin his jail term of three years and four months.
The six were originally sentenced to jail terms of between 21 months and eight years, but these were reduced to between seven months and three-and-a-half years in a High Court ruling last year.
Following the decision, Chew tried to challenge his conviction on two occasions, though he failed.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal dismissed a bid by the prosecution to reinstate the original sentences of the six former church leaders, as it ruled that company directors and key officers of charities and societies did not fall under the definition of "agents" under the most serious form of criminal breach of trust.
But the Court noted that the legislation on this is outdated, and that a review is "long overdue" and essential.
"Andrew Phang on that judgment was absolutely sound, said Chew on the final verdict delivered by the apex court on Feb 1. "They should do that (amend the laws) ... All humans have the right to be told in clear language what is a crime."
Chew is set to be charged in court for attempting to flee Singapore just one day before his jail term begins. He was arrested on Feb 21.
He had cancelled an interview with Channel NewsAsia scheduled for Feb 20 - stating in a WhatsApp message the night before that he had "too many things" on his plate.
The interview was to take place at Bedok Jetty as it's where he said he seeks solitude sometimes.
If found guilty of leaving Singapore unlawfully, Chew could be jailed up to six months, fined up to $2,000 or both.
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