Singaporean in church fraud case tries to flee on boat

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man convicted over a high-profile fraud case at a megachurch was caught yesterday trying to flee in a boat before he was due to start his sentence, police said.

In a case that gripped the citystate with a heady mix of religion, showbiz and fraud, six leaders from City Harvest Church were convicted in 2015 of pilfering tens of millions of dollars from the place of worship to promote the pop career of the pastor’s wife.

Among them was investment manager Chew Eng Han (pix), who was sentenced to three years and four months but had his imprisonment delayed by a series of appeals.

After losing his final challenge, the 57-year-old was allowed to remain out of prison on bail until after the Lunar New Year holiday, and was meant to start serving his sentence today.

But in the latest bizarre twist to the case, police caught Chew around 8.45am in a small fishing boat off eastern Singapore allegedly attempting to flee to Malaysia.

He was with a second man who was piloting the craft.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the duo were attempting to depart Singapore illegally,” said a police statement.

The men were carrying S$5,000 (RM14.913) in cash, three mobile phones and fishing gear. – AFP