Coming after the NKF saga, how does the arrest of Ren Ci head make you feel?

Question

Ren Ci hospital head s**+ Ming Yi has been charged with 10 charges of forgery and misuse of funds. Do you think he's guilty? What do you think should be done to prevent such situations in charitable organisations in Singapore?

Answer 1

The LAW must Prevail in ANY matters pertaining to CHEATS, MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS in any form from  Public Istituitions, Organisations, Societies, Government Bodies/Organisations,etc. NO ONE is ABOVE  the LAW and MUST be PUNISHED SEVERELY in any ACTS of such MISUSES. For they are supposed to be the Trustee or " Guardian Angel" over Such Sacred Matters, once they turned "Satanic" they MUST be DEMOLISHED  irrespective of Who they Are/Were !! Din Huzir.

Answer 2

First of all, it just goes on to show human beings are fallen creatures. Probably his followers and donors to his organisation would be very disappointed. Religious leaders are not as reliable as they project themselves to be. We need to be objective and not just blindly follow their calls.

When it was published a few years back that he was earning 5 digits salary, I was puzzled why a monk needed such money when a monk should live a simple life. Now, I am more amazed why he wanted so much money ?

The money he cheated could feed all the extreme poor in Singapore for a good number of years to come.

I think we should applaud the government for courageously exposed such misconduct even though it involved a popular Buddhist leader.

True religious harmony can only come when the society is build upon law and order, of logical reasoning and of truth.

I am sure the government would put in place a good audit system to prevent such fraut.

Answer 3

Guilty yes of course. There are 10 charges against him, just one is enough for us to never believe the organisation again needless to say 10. There seems to be nothing that can prevent such situations. The NKF saga didn't seem to scare him enough to prevent him from doing such things so what else could be done?

To prevent such situations, I prefer to help those in need personally then donate the money to these organisations. By volunteering your help, you at least know you are helping those in need, even if you do hand them money, it will be for a good cause( at least the money is not processed by someone else who don't need it)

Following the NKF saga, I have learnt not to trust charitable organisations again.

Answer 4

I think he's guilty and he had betrayed the trust of those who donated generously to help the underprivileged and those in need .He abuse his authority as the head of Ren Ci and pocketed the money into his own company. No matter how much good he has done, one act of dishonesty is enough to wipe out all his effort.To prevent such situations in charitable organisations in Singapore, there should be an authority to check the accounts and auditing done every 6 months .

Answer 5

It is a curious development indeed. In the NKF saga, a man who raised almost $100million a year for kidney patients, and who probably saved the lives of many was accused of a lavish lifestyle because of a golden tap (that did not exist, because the contractor had removed it on orders of the head of the NKF).

After exhaustive audits by KPMG and others, not a cent was actually missing! He was finally convicted for giving twenty thousand to someone who had done much more in terms of actual work for the NKF. But as an irregularity was inferred he was found guilty. Again no money came to him.

This saga so upset some in Singapore that he was given a million dollars by a fellow Singaporean. Would you do the same for someone who was actually guilty of stealing?

The sad truth is that individuals who are "powerful" through

their good works are perceived as threats to the prevailing

power elite. So they are brought down. (surprising that they did not use the sodomy charge so popular these days when trying to frame others!)

Singapore Inc. makes so much money that all medical costs of its elderly citizens, cancer children, and help for less well off folks and the NKF and Ren Ci, could be paid for easily by the State. If only they were as charitable as

the average Singaporean.

An old lady I know on very a limited income ($400pm) gives away sixty dollars every month to a neighbour who cares for a disabled relative.

I challenge you to do the same!

Answer 6

Charity is all about trust. I guess that at the regulator level (the registrar of charities), their responsibility is to ensure that monies are properly used, and if they are not, to find out and investigate, and arrest and charge people where anomalies are found.

Which is what is already happening, so to me, the system works. Even if its a reactive system, I think that this is a justifiable situation. If the system was proactive, then a lot of charity work would not be done simply because there would be too many obstacles for establishing an often necessary and urgent type of work.

Answer 7

Most people have low resistance to the temptation of money. Being in the direct seat deciding how funds are being used can lead to misuse, abuse and classified as fraudalent.

In any charitable organisation, it will always be prudent that the fund raiser has no say on how the monies should be used. (Having an influence means directly channelling monies to your interest - ethics issue).

The executive committee who approves the use of these funds should have already in its by-laws laid down how the money should be used or allocated to those organisations in need. Should there be a need to channel funds for sudden epidemic eg earthquakes or tsunami, the committee should convene and get the votes required on how the funds are to be used. Members of this committee should contain some subject matter experts such as lawyers, accountants as well as those professions from private and public sectors.. teachers, engineers, ... people who have a chance to deal with the poor and needy.

All sub-contract works should have minimum 2 tenders and be reviewed again by this committee for approval. All such expenses/records of usage of funds shall be made available to the donors and fund raisers of this organisation.

Answer 8

I find that ever since the first incident over the cheating of funds in NKF, everybody should learn from the mistake done and never to repeat again. However, disasterous things happen just like how history repeats itself, Ren Ci begins another similar incident. At this rate, more and more people will find that their money seem to be useless as although it appeared to be donated to the charity, it actually is pocketed by someone else. The public will definitely loses faith in donating to charity organisations. This in turn creates a bad impact on another charity socities. Sure enough, Ming Yi should absolutely feel guilty due to a moment of greed, he landed himself in deep troubles. I think that in order to prevent such things from happening again, the charity organisation should report their doings to the government, ensuring that everything is in peace and order.

Answer 9

Of Course he is guilty, because put  it this way that the fund he misused is the hard earn money from every donors in singapore or even overseas and he totally bretray the trust that we had given him especially when he is a highly educated personel Monk. It is proven!! Money leads to greed with this kind of society. Most Sporean always penalised ppls from other countries, Now look at this 2 incident happens throughout the last 2 year, whats so great about Spore citizen themselve?  It is always an issue that how do we prevent Human's greed by nature when this is a pressurised and fast pace society. what i think is maybe we should put somone who is a multi millionare to be in charge.

Answer 10

The heads of charitable organizations should be absolved of all wrong for they should be given the benifit of all doubt. Right and wrong are subjective situations depending on how a situation is percieved and presented  ;and intent  is important too.

One cannot rule out intent again in the eyes of the people finding fault and as such ,cases such as these should be tried on the grounds of "Natural Justice"  and not like some silly communist " people's court ".

Answer 11

There was another NKF incident before this, and many people have already lost their trust on this fund raising company. Through the years, people have finally regained their trust, but now, this had to happen.

Well, I believe the head of Ren Ci hospital committed the crime due to a moment a folly. He wanted to help his friends, but he used the funds to do so - and it did not belong to him. He should not have done that. Maybe he has forgotten that the money does not belong to him (no matter what, he has been there for a long time, he might have been brainwashed?), hence he did all these.

I have no idea what we can do to prevent such situations in charitable organisations in Singapore, even the person we trust the most have done that, what about others?

Answer 12

I am really not surprised. I tend to believe that all charity organisations in Singapore do misuse their funds in one way or another. It's frankly because there is a lack of regulative policing to watch and analyse spending. People have always misused funds especially when it isn't their own. A body has to be organised to partake in the regulation of all Charities. Also, greater transparency with annual detailed financial spending to be released publicly.  I am surprised that NCSS or MCYS doesn't take a more active part in becoming a Charity Watchdog.

Answer 13

s**+ Ming Yi knows if he has done wrong and if he has let down the people who trusted in him and who were placed in his care.

A lie - even a white one - is still a lie. Had he been forthright about his actions and the way money is handled, he would not be charged.

I am glad the authorities are auditing the various charitable organizations as this acting, jointly with the uncovering of the NKF and Ren Ci cases, will deter others from trying to be funny with funds that are meant to help people and not meant for them to help themselves to.

With more transparency and both independent and government auditing results being made available, hopefully confidence and order will be restored.

The people who need the help most should not be penalised for the dishonesty of the leader of the charity whose umbrella they are standing under. Instead, we should give them even more help with upright people now being planted in their organisation to right the wrongs of the previous management.  The donations will finally find their way to these people in need of help. This is the best time to give, not hold back our donations.

Answer 14

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." -  John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902) said this in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.

Any charitable organisation should not have thier CEO or top management unchecked.

These CEOs are capable people and they probably have helped hundreds of thousands of people. However cheating on donors' money is wrong, even using it in a way that is different from what they were donated for is also not right. It is as severe as cheating or stealing.

These organisations are handling MILLIONS of dollars from the public every year. I think they should be subject to more stringent supervision and reporting to an independant governing body, like what MAS does to the banks. There has to be full disclosue to how much money is collected and how they are being used.

There should also be audits done by external auditors appointed by the governing body and it should comprise of a group of different auditors from different audit firms that are rotated different organisations to ensure more thorough checking instead of the opposite due to familiarity.

I have stopped donating to NKF since the saga (not that I have given a lot to them though) but I have came across many individuals like me who have lost confidence in the organisation. Anyway with the lawsuit they should be getting some compensation plus the money they save from the previous directors' fee, they can afford to lose me as a small donor.



Having said that, not all charitable organisations are like that. I chanced upon KDF started by a group of doctors who wanted to help some kidney patients who cannot afford the subsdised monthly fees offered by another kidney oranisation and were left to die. The directors of KDF do not receive any directors' fees. I think that speaks a lot about the organisation, instead of those who receive a certain amount and report another figure.

Anyway, back to Lord Aton's quote in the first paragraph, history (not just in Singapore's charity arena) has shown that what he said centuries ago still holds true today.  No power should go unchecked if we want to prevent corruption.

Answer 15

Necessary regular auditing will work in such situation.

The NKF Saga and the arrest of Ren Ci head made me ponder the integrity and values these organizations hold. Do they act according to the rules they set in the book? Obviously not, therefore the abuse. Why set rules when you don't follow any?

Charitable organizations wanted help, we showered them with donations. They needed support, therefore explains the volunteers and the hardworking media and media artistes to initiate more support by raising funds. But where did the hard earned money we donated go to? Into their big fat pockets? Now that's wrong.

Guilty or not, the law and order will decide. Now we all know who's the bad guy.

Answer 16

Charity is a profitable business. How many needy people actually benefitted from it? How much are the funds being maximised?

The people who managed the funds must have high integrity.

How many human beings out there dare to admit that they did it out of the moment of greed?

Recall a pastor also misuse church funds and he was forgiven by some of his church members?

During disaster, a lot of resources from around the world were sent to affected countries. How has the government or its officials manage the resources? Look at Indonesia during Tsunami, Myanmar during the recent typhoon, China during the recent major earthquake.

Answer 17

Let the case begin......yes , your honour, he is guilty.

Ostentatious display of doing it for the sake of charity will give me second thoughts of whether the organisation is doing it for charity or doing it for their pockets.

The credibility of charitable organisations is marred beyond reasonable doubt and I will rather save the money for something useful and volunteer for a credible charity institution.

True, the circus life of a charity show has ended and the government must do something so their citizens wont be milked  of their hard earned money just to satisfy the whims of  charity CEOS.

Answer 18

It is unfortunate that Ven. s**+ Ming Yi is caught up in this saga. Although Ven. s**+ Ming Yi may have mishandled the matters concerned, I do not believe he is guilty of any crimes.

For all Buddhists, Ven. s**+ Ming Yi possess a priceless treasure that few possessed. That is the robe of the Sangha that encompassed the Vinaya rules. I believe Ven. s**+ Ming Yi value this treasure more than any other worldly treasures.

To an extend,  the current saga is a conflict of cultures between a charity organisation (that had a simple beginning) and the strict rules of a regulatory body. Local charity groups has an unique culture and what had happened in Ren Ci is not uncommon in other charity groups. This is due to the limited resources (people and financially) and constraints faced by the charity groups.

We also need to consider the timings of these incidents. There was rapid changes in the rules governing charity following the NKF incident.

Although the implemented changes are good, local charity groups are caught trying to rectify the non compliances (in time).  Some of these rectifying take time but unfortuntately time is not on the side of selected charity group(s). This lead to a misjudgement on the charity management to go for quickfix measures.

To help these charity groups, the regulatory body should consider giving them a one time reprieve. The reprieve measures could include a self declaration of non compliance(s) and a grace period for rectifications under supervision by the regulating body.This is to be fair and giving the deserving chairty group(s) a chance to make good. Otherwise, the charity group would be hard pressed to go for quickfix measures that could results in more troubles.

The charity group are trying their best to help those in needs and at the same time complying with the governing rules. It not a easy or straight forwards task. We should still support these deserving charity groups.

Answer 19

I'm utterly disappointed with Venerable Ming Yi who was slapped with 10 charges.

I just cannot comprehend how can he as a monk, wearing a Buddhist robe and heading several Buddhist temples/causes commit such crimes.

Has he not get rid of the greed in his heart when he decided to turn to Buddhism and became a monk ?

I had great respect and admiration for his relentless effort in the past,   raising funds for the charitable causes.

Perhaps, he like Durai, felt that they had built up 'his' charity organisation from scratch and 'owns' it and thus deserve to take a share of it even though the money comes from public donations.

Whatever that is going to happen to him, I hope he will learn from his painful lesson.

Answer 20

It sure a shock news to me...i thought it was just "suspect of misuse of funds".

Ver. should know the karmic effect is so great for using public funds for personnel use, but I think he had his own reason....

I fully support this line wrote by Maya R:

:Singapore Inc. makes so much money that all medical costs of its elderly citizens, cancer children, and help for less well off folks and the NKF and Ren Ci, could be paid for easily by the State. If only they were as charitable as

the average Singaporean.

Since start of the "Golden Tap" case I have tell myself:

Singapore Inc should be the one supply the money to charity and not average Singapoorean like us...notice the word: SingaPOORean?

Let them handle, to me charity should be carry by the State and not individual, Unless in a volentary basis.

Answer 21

The arrest really made me feel disappointed and awed. I mean, after the NKF arrest, wouldn't other organisations fear that they might be 'found out' too? Especially the person we are talking about is ming yi fa s**+. Every year, he would perform dangerous stunts to help move people to donate more money for charity. As for whether he is guilty or not, no one can be sure until there is sufficient proof and ming yi fa s**+ admitted it himself. Until then, I'm going to stay neutral...

But if he really did that, I feel that it is human nature to succumb to greed. But I was shocked that he, a monk, actually succumb to his desire! Shouldn't a monk be well, humble? Not care for material gains, luxury etc? Definitely disappointed in him...

To prevent more cases from happening, I feel that the Singapore government should take more precautions. First, impose more fines and punish them more severely. In what way I do not really know, maybe serve a longer jail term?

Second, I feel that parents should take a part in training our country's future leaders. They should groom their children to have integrity, honest, and a moral mindset. By grooming them at a young age, it will be more deeply etched within them and this will reduce such cases from happening.

Answer 22

Everyone is presumed innocent till found guilty by the court of law. Like all others, Venerable s**+ will be given the opportunity to present his side of the story to the court. Till then, we should not cast final judgement prematurely.

Similarly we should not compare Venerable s**+ with Durai in the same light. Durai was found guilty of abusing the corporate financial system for personal gains. NKF (during Durai's term of office) is a sad story of excess at the detriment of the very people it sought to serve.  I choose to respect the leadership & determination of Venerable s**+ in leading Ren Ci to provide health-care services to the poor & sick. He dared to perform stunts to raise funds and that is something commendable.

While it is discouraging to hear of such situation happening, let us look ahead and explore jointly the ways to boost better corporate governance, tighter financial controls and donor's confidence. Personally I would like to see more active personnel to manage (as opposed to having all power vested in an individual), independent 3rd party audits and overview by the authorities. The last thing we want is to see the very people needing the care & support being penalized for any indiscretions.  

Peace to All.

Answer 23

Ans to Q1 - Woke up e dozing in me....felt sad about his arrest, not the waking up part. It is a solemn reminder that anyone can fall.....lack of accountability makes it easier for one to be tempted.

Ans to Q2 - I hope he is not guilty but so far, the authorities seldom charge anyone unless there are enough evidence(s)to do so. I hope there are very good mitigating reasons for the friendly loans extended to the companies that are all linked to him amounting to millions of donors' hard-earned monies....all donated in the name of charity for specific purposes.

Ans to Q3 - Regular and surprise audit checks should be done thoroughly. May be good to change the external audit firm annually as familiarity can lead to complacency as well as dulling the senses of "checkers" per se. Still, if there is intention on the part of some people to commit mischief with the funds flying into "unknown or unauthorised areas", it will take really dedicated eyes to spot those discrepancies.

Ultimately, the best system in place will fail when there are no vigilant "policing"....unfortunately, it is human nature to "slacken" in areas where nobody checks or ensure compliance. Hence, it is a matter of time, at a moment of one's weakness, to yield to temptations and a mistake is done.

Answer 24

He's a real scum of the earth if he really is guilty of doing all that he is being charged for. Just because he did raise money for the needy doesn't give him the right to commit forgery and misuse the funds. Doing 10 good deeds doesn't give anyone the right to commit one mistake after that. Further more, people with status like his are expected to portray a morally upright behaviour. As a religious leader and as a chairman of a charitable organisation if found guilty, he'll tarnish not only his own reputation, but even affect the organisation, thus affecting the willingness of some people to donate to the organisation.

Answer 25

It truly saddens me when people cover themselves with a facade of religious holiness and are subsequently publicly caught having abused the general public's trust.  The consequent impact on other charitable causes that are honest is incalculable as the negative publicity dries up donations and volunteers.

Religion itself doesnt come into play as have been proven by Catholic priests who turn out to be paedophiles, Hindu holy men who turn out to be charlatans, Muslim Imams that turn out to be self appointed and the like.  

In the same way, there have been numerous examples of misplaced trust in public figures in the political arena - we all remember all too vividly the US president caught with his pants down and the female intern with the stained skirt.  OR the NY governor who was a crusader of morals on Wall Street.  This part of the world too has also had more than its fair share of corrupted ministers and flawed leaders.

Unfortunately, there is a long line of hypocrites (religious or otherwise) that have been very publicly exposed, and I'm sure that the "venerable" s**+ Ming Yi, will not be the last ......

Answer 26

Of course, he is guilty.  He does not have the right to use public funds to invest on behalf of the hospital.  It is not his own money to do what he wants with it.  He may have started the hospital with good intentions but as we all know money is the root of all evil he has fallen in this trap because as he was in a powerful position as CEO of Ren Ci Hospital..  People in authority must watch out that they do not get into such situations and abuse the power and authority bestowed upon them to run an organisation. To prevent such situations, government audits should be conducted twice a year so that fraud can be prevented.

Answer 27

It's not up to me to think if he's guilty or not. But i don't think the authorities will make a arrest and press charges without substantial evidence.

I myself work in a VWO, and we undergo scrutinous auditing twice a year after the NKF saga. And if I remember correctly, this case came to light after the NKF saga as well. So i guess now the government's making more efforts that VWOs and charitable organisations are running appropriately.

I think the big hoo-ha over this case is because the main person involved is a monk, and he heads many charity organisations. This  stirs up many emotions in people, because like it or not, we do carry some "expectations" towards religious figures. But let's face the facts. As long as one is not "enlightened", one is still prone to making mistakes. So I guess this incident is not just one lesson for the main person to learn, but a lesson for us to learn as well. Religious figures may not necessarily be spiritual, and spiritual people may not be religious.  Let's not forget that.

Answer 28

I believe it is not for me to put a sentence before a judge. Let's be patient. :)

As what Venerable's lawyer said, "it is not a case of a person has basically taken the money and used it to buy house or buy shares for himself."

"It’s a question of corporate governance; it’s a question of how you treat certain things in the accounts and what should be done."

Referring to one comment on the teaching, there is nothing wrong with the teaching. Let's face the facts, no matter what went wrong, this is human at work, not the teaching!

Coming back....., let's don't forget the number of patients who has benefited from his work.

Once again, let's be patient....

As for what should be done, I look forward for a time when Venerables in charitable organizations are not personally involved in money matters.

Independent bodies should be engaged to handle the fund and auditors are involved to check the regularities of the fund management.

Answer 29

1st it was father Joachim Kang (if I remembered the name correctly). Now the famous monk from Ren Ci. There may be more to come.

I won't be surprised if he's guilty. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. After NKF saga, stricter measures have been implemented to deter such crime. Transparency is very important, and bodies have to step in to audit and monitor charity groups. I believe the goverment will continue to review & fine tune the regulations on how charity groups are managed. Meanwhile, continue to donate as it's a blessing to give & help others. The innocent beneficiaries shouldn't be the victims of these crooks.

The love of money is root of all evil. Even the rich and spiritual leaders can't resist. They are human after all, just like us, made of flesh & blood, with feelings, & subjected to temptations.

Answer 30

I felt upset when I read about this piece of news. Whatever the instances maybe, Venerable Mingyi had done his part substantially for the charity community and remains as highly respectable as ever. In buddhism, there is a saying "one should be responsible for his actions, as Karma protects no one". I reckon if Venerable Mingyi is guilty for his actions, he will be responsible and pay for his wrong doing. I reckon high profile members of religious community should be sent for courses on management and accounting courses. It could be a spur of moment that funds are wrongly accounted for that have caused him these problems. Pls bear in mind that "Human do make mistakes, so long as they are willing to pay for their actions, the society should forgive them and give them a second chance in life". Cheers!

Answer 31

Well, 1st time to say when intial investigation started in Feb 2008 on Ren Ci hospital was disappointment and more disappointment.

Ming Yi Revered was one of the most respectable high key personel for raising funds for charity organisation. His original intention to help the needy and the poor was correct but was lured into desire during the process of helping the poor.

Whether is guilty or not, depends on Ming Yi Revered's heart and soul as he alone is anwerable to all the questionable truth about his honesty. Althrough the court can choose to throw the case out of court or set him guility, I say it is like crying over the spolit milk.

Misuse of funds or forgery should not be seen in charity orangisation anywhere in the world not just in Singapore but repeated cases reported in Singapore are diminishing Singaporean's kind heartness as one no longer trust charity organisations to donate.

I believe other than regular audit and closing to the guildlines for charity organisation, the board of meeting should be consist of the public if not, the government officals. (This is similar of corporate governess in listed companies.)

The statements of the accounts should be able to be accessed by all the members of public easily (Ren CI hospital did publish its statement of accounts but I believe it is not the full statement of accounts.)

Last personal opinion before I drew a close to my opinion is that members of the public should be more activly involved in charity organisation not in terms of momentary but rather in manpower.

Most charity organisation are still short on momentary as well as manpower to run their daily operations and end up hiring full time employees to do the works - which drew another important issues is the salaries of the high key personels working in charity organisation ie 80k "peanuts" salary that Duai T.T used to drawn during his time with NKF.

With that, I hope that I will not see another report on charity organisation saga (which is unlikely as greed habours desire) so that Singapore will feel that the momentary parked with chairty organisation are with safe hands.