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10 Facts About Chew Eng Han, The Ex-CHC Member Who Tried to Flee S’pore #LikeABoss

2018-02-22 , 12:10 pm

Well, looks like Singaporeans’ got ourselves a new national “hero”!

Despite the daunting odds, one man took on the seemingly impossible mission to leave Singapore via illegal channels and left a mark in history while doing so—when he failed gloriously.

And yes, I am referring to Chew Eng Han.

Now that everyone is talking/laughing about his feat, here are 10 facts about Chew Eng Han you might want to know!

1) He tried to escape Singapore

…by using a Sampan.

Well yeah, it’s a motorised Sampan. But it sounds so much cooler if we were to omit the “motorised” part, right?

2) He was not alone

According to the police at a briefing at the Loyang Police Coast Guard Base, Chew was arrested together with a man named Tan Poh Teck at around 8.47 am while on board a motorised sampan.

Huh, so this Tan Poh Teck guy is kinda like what Sam is to Frodo, eh?

In this case, well… an accomplice.

But wait till you read on, things are going to get even more ridiculous.

3) $5,000 cash on him

Fishing equipment aside, Chew was found with $5000 on him when he was captured by the coast guard.

He claimed that he was just on a fishing trip but seriously…$5,000?

What are you supposed to do with the $5,000 when fishing? Use the notes as bait? I think with this alone, it’s enough to assume that he’s really trying to flee Singapore.

The fishing equipment in the boat? Well, you get the idea. He might be fishing…fishing for a way out, maybe.

4) Serving his Sentence

Chew Eng Han was the former fund manager of City Harvest Church. He was convicted of misusing church funds and due to begin his jail term of three years and four months this Thursday, 22 Feb.

However, he may also be jailed up to six months and fined S$2,000 if found guilty of leaving Singapore unlawfully.

I’m not sure how jail terms work, but maybe it’s simple addition? 3 years and 4 months + 6 months = 3 years and 10 months?

Through the process, he has often been deferring his sentence: he was supposed to go to jail with the other ex-CHC members but was granted a deferment. Earlier this month, he asked to spend Chinese New Year with his family.

It was supposed to be his last deferment.

5) Original Sentence

Chew was one of the six CHC leaders convicted of misappropriating $50 million back in 2015.

He was originally sentenced to 6 years’ jail, which was then reduced to 3 years and 4 months after his appeal.

That’s right, only 3 years and 4 months in jail for abusing the trust of others—and don’t even get me started on the other leaders.

No matter how I look at this, this sounds like a pretty good trade-off, eh?

6) Day of escape

The escape took place a day before he was supposed to serve his sentence, which is on 22 Feb 2018. Which, isn’t a very bright move, in my opinion.

And well, he has been charged for this latest offence.

He just increased his jail term because of a stupid mistake, and who knows, his sentence might become longer as he’s attempting to escape the jail term.

7) Not going back to CHC

Just days before his escape, Chew vowed that he would not return to CHC unless there was a change of leadership.

To be honest, as things are now, nobody would want anything to do with CHC. Heck, even after this whole saga concludes, I’m sure the name of CHC would be synonymous with scandal and corruption.

8) CEH against CHC

Back in July 2016, Chew filed a police report against 8 members of CHC for “fraudulent misrepresentation of vital facts about the church which induced me and other members to give our donations” and for purposes other than what the funds were supposed to be intended for.

According to Chew, he had been brainwashed (wait, what) into supporting the crossover project, where Kong Hee misappropriated the money for Sun Ho’s music career.

Well, it’s at times like this you get to see how people really are, no?

Basically, his defence is relatively different from the other CHC members.

9) Best brother award

Shortly after the arrest off the coast of Pulau Ubin, Chew Eng Soon, the brother of Chew Eng Han, was arrested at approximately 3.40 pm for abetting the offence of leaving Singapore illegally.

Shouldn’t you stop your brother from doing something foolish like this? Why are you even helping him? Heck, now look at the trouble he’s gotten himself into.

Those convicted of abetting an offence can face a maximum fine of up to $6,000 and a maximum jail term of 6 months!

10) He was sued by the church

Oh, wait. Say what?

If you’ve not been following the news, or your newsfeed has been flooded with images of cats and dogs last year, here’s what happened: back in October 2014, CHC filed a civil suit against his company, Amac Capital Partners, and him, for not returning $21 million and $4.6 million in interest.

It’s a long story la, but basically, like what #8 suggests, it’s really a CEH vs CHC: Chew Han Eng vs City Harvest Church.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com