The head of a wealthy Singaporean Christian church who spent US$35 million in congregation funds on a failed bid to promote his wife’s music career had his jail term slashed on appeal on Friday.
But Singapore’s High Court halved the 52-year-old’s 2015 sentence for misusing around S$50 million (US$35.6 million) in church funds in the failed attempt to turn Sun, also a pastor, into a global pop star.
The case was described by state prosecutors as the largest misappropriation of charity funds in Singapore’s legal history.
Prosecutors had argued that Kong should be jailed for 11 to 12 years, but the high court on Friday sentenced him to three years and six months in jail.
Five other leaders at the glitzy megachurch, which used pop music to attract members and boost donations, also saw their original prison sentences reduced by the court ruling.