(news extracted from http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080716/tap-407-head-ren-ci-hospital-venerable-s-231650b.html

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SINGAPORE: Former head of Ren Ci Hospital, Venerable Shi Ming Yi, has been charged with forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds.

46—year—old Venerable Ming Yi, who was also the former Ren Ci chairman, was slapped with 10 charges on Tuesday morning.

The monk faces four charges under the Penal Code involving two counts of alleged criminal breach of trust. He also faces one count of forgery for the purpose of cheating, and one count of abetment for allegedly falsifying accounts.

He also faces six charges under the Charities Act for allegedly providing false information over a decade.

Two of his associates, Raymond Yeung and Phua Seow Hua, were also alleged to have gone into conspiracy with the venerable and were also charged in court on Tuesday.

This is the second case in Singapore where a large charity and its leaders have been charged with mismanaging funds. The first was the National Kidney Foundation and its ex—CEO, TT Durai.

Separately, a volunteer from Ren Ci was charged with possessing some 70 copies of obscene film.

Venerable Ming Yi, also known as Goh Kah Heng, is out on a S$200,000 bail. His case will be heard in court on August 4.

The monk has been on leave for five months before his arrest on Monday night. He had been under probe by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).

The CAD was called in after auditors engaged by the Ministry of Health (MOH) highlighted possible irregularities in some of the charity’s financial transactions.

The MOH had said that several transactions, which involved several million dollars, could not be satisfactorily explained.

The venerable is said to have given false information to the Commissioner of Charities between 1998 and 2008. These included two instances when he allegedly approved million—dollar investments for the charity, but the funds included loans for himself.

The monk is also accused of using S$300,000 to offset an outstanding loan by Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, of which he is a partner, and another S$50,000 was allegedly lent to Yeung and a helper at the monasteries.

He was also alleged to have forged minutes of a meeting by asking a staff to write that it was Mandala, and not himself, that owed Ren Ci over S$600,000.

The venerable’s lawyer, Andre Yap, said: "Our position would be that everything that was done was for a legitimate cause. It is not a case where a person has basically taken the money and used it to buy a 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.

"Some of the charges relate to matters which the previous board of Ren Ci had discussed at board meetings and had even sanctioned. So we don’t believe that there’s a criminal element to many of these charges."

Ren Ci and 11 other large Institutions of a Public Character were subject to the Health Ministry’s general review in July 2006.

The organisation is believed to be the third largest health charity in Singapore after the National Kidney Foundation and the SingHealth Endowment Fund.

The Commissioner of Charities has suspended Venerable Ming Yi from his office as Chief Executive Officer of Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre with immediate effect.

He will also be suspended from his executive positions in five other charities: Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery, Foo Hai Ch’an Buddhist Cultural and Welfare Association, Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic, The Singapore Regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, and the Katho Temple.

However, he remains the religious leader of the Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery in Geylang East.

Despite the monk’s departure, Ren Ci’s current services and day—to—day operations have been unaffected by the incident.

Member of Parliament, Dr Ong Seh Hong, has taken over as CEO, while Mr Chua Thian Poh was appointed chairman of Ren Ci in September 2007. Both men did not respond to Channel NewsAsia’s queries on the case.

The Health Ministry said the new chairman has added new members to Ren Ci’s board and has put in "a number of improvements in accordance with the recommendations made by the auditor", and he will "further strengthen the board in the wake of these findings".

One devotee at the Foo Hai Ch’an Monastery said he hopes the case will lay everything out in the open.

Benny Woo, a businessman, said: "It’s a sad case, but I still feel that he probably has his reasons (for doing what he did). Personally, it does not discourage or demoralise my faith. As a CEO and as a person—in—charge, he has to face up to it and be liable, even though he may not be directly involved."

The high—profile monk is also abbot to several temples in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

— CNA/yb/so

 

This is a good example for all of us to see that no one can escape the rule of cause and effect. Whatever actions we take, there will be aftermath outcomes that we must be accountable for. Although I must admit this is indeed a unfortunate case for the reputation of Buddhism espcially in this vulnerable period, where it is so difficult for sentient beings to plant the seed of Buddhadharma.

But no matter what is the court outcome, we Buddhists should understand that Ven. Ming Yi is now standing trial as a person, for the alleged charges in court, not the Triple Gems.

I may be wrong, but if the rules are to be followed, the venerable should remove his robes while in courts when facing his own charges ( or when handcuff or arrested by the police/authorities); becos one is being charged for wrong-doings himself, the Triple Gems is not involved. Buddha didn't teach anyone to commit the crime, the Buddhadharma shows the right way not wrong way, and the sangha group didn't abet it. This is to show respect to the Triple Gems, as well as to avoid misleading sentient beings into unkonwingly slandering Buddhism which may dash the hopes of some who may have interest in the Buddhadharma. 断众生慧命 。

But of cos we have to give the venerable his fair chance in court, and then everyboby must accept the truth and subsequently the the ruling outcomes.  If the venerable did found to do wrong, he will pay the price himself.

Please do not give up hopes or cast a doubtful eye on all the other good and upright sangha groups. And we buddhists must ever the more practice the dharma diligently and always to have the Triple Gems in heart whenever we do or say something.

“对三宝没有信心， 法就灭了。 

- 心宏法师 ”

Even before this incident, I had heard some unrelated allegations from sources about the venerable on certain things... that are disturbing but they are just allegations from third party sources and I do not know whether they are true (so we should not judge him base on that either), and I think these kind of things should be dealt appropriately by the appropriate authorities of sangha and we should not interfere by spreading rumours and things like that.

I agree with you about the trust in Sangha. In the sutras, in the future the monks will become so corrupted and at point they will disappear altogether. When the Sangha disappears, this is the last stage of the dharma ending age. After that, disappearance of dharma will soon follow and disappear. Right now I don't think we have come to that, we should still support the sangha and cherish what they had to offer.

Anyway I sincerely hope Ven Shi Ming Yi will come clean from this case.

In chinese:

Yi1 Fa3 Bu4 Yi1 Ren2

Yi1 Yi4 Bu4  Yi1 Yu3

Yi1 Liao3 Yi4 er Bu4 Yi1 Bu4 Liao3 Yi4

Just cause and effect will handle by itself. Just keep our mind at peace and at ease. Don't dwell into it. :)

Originally posted by concerned_man:

In chinese:

Yi1 Fa3 Bu4 Yi1 Ren2

Yi1 Yi4 Bu4  Yi1 Yu3

Yi1 Liao3 Yi4 er Bu4 Yi1 Bu4 Liao3 Yi4

Just cause and effect will handle by itself. Just keep our mind at peace and at ease. Don't dwell into it. :)

That's right, there is no reason for us to be bothered over these issues. Each is responsible for their own actions, not others.

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

Even before this incident, I had heard some unrelated allegations from sources about the venerable on certain things... that are disturbing but they are just allegations from third party sources and I do not know whether they are true (so we should not judge him base on that either), and I think these kind of things should be dealt appropriately by the appropriate authorities of sangha and we should not interfere by spreading rumours and things like that.

I agree with you about the trust in Sangha. In the sutras, in the future the monks will become so corrupted and at point they will disappear altogether. When the Sangha disappears, this is the last stage of the dharma ending age. After that, disappearance of dharma will soon follow and disappear. Right now I don't think we have come to that, we should still support the sangha and cherish what they had to offer.

Anyway I sincerely hope Ven Shi Ming Yi will come clean from this case.

True, true.

Oh, and just want to to add that, case by case, we shouldn't deny Venerable Ming Yi his merits for his sincere efforts in giving help and solace to the poor and the sick.  This part we must learn from him.

Originally posted by concerned_man:

In chinese:

Yi1 Fa3 Bu4 Yi1 Ren2

Yi1 Yi4 Bu4  Yi1 Yu3

Yi1 Liao3 Yi4 er Bu4 Yi1 Bu4 Liao3 Yi4

Just cause and effect will handle by itself. Just keep our mind at peace and at ease. Don't dwell into it. :)

Precisely.

Saw Venerable Ming Yi picture on chinese news paper, his head was shaved and wears an orange robe... so I guess he is still a monk regardless of the case outcome. Anyway,

The monk who abides in the Dhamma,

delights in the Dhamma.

meditates on the Dhamma

and bears the Dhamma well in mind,

does not fall from the sublime(extremely good) Dhamma.

i agree that Ming Yi should wear normal clothing when standing trial. It is misleading to the public  that it is linked to religion. 

   Maybe he is hoping that his sangha attire will help him get off lightly . Sigh another black sheep among the sangha .

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/360779/1/.html

   

Non-profit organisations urge public not to stop helping the needy
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 July 2008 2212 hrs

    Photos 1 of 2      
Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre       Related Videos Non-profit organisations urge public not to stop helping the needy

 

SINGAPORE: Some non-profit organisations in Singapore have advised the public not to let the latest alleged fraud case, involving Ren Ci charity, to detract them from the bigger issue of helping needy Singaporeans.

Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre is one of the largest charities in Singapore that provides medical and step-down care for the needy.

Ren Ci's former CEO, Venerable Shi Ming Yi, was charged in court on Tuesday with forgery, conspiracy and misappropriating charity funds.

The monk, whose actual name is Goh Kah Heng, is out on a S$200,000 bail. He is due to be back in court on August 4.

Venerable Ming Yi was the face of Ren Ci before this latest incident, and those involved in the charity sector in Singapore said a distinction has to be drawn between the individual and a charity's role.

Gerard Ee, chairman of the National Kidney Foundation, said: "I hope the public will see it clearly and continue to support Ren Ci Hospital because the beneficiaries are in need of their support, in need of continuing service.

"So don't abandon the support for the hospital. As for the individual, like I say, let it take its course, let it have a fair hearing and don't prejudge."

Other non-profit organisations in Singapore are optimistic that donor confidence will not waver from this recent setback. However, it doesn't help that this comes shortly after the former chief of National Kidney Foundation, TT Durai, was jailed for misappropriating funds.

Adrian Choo, an associate lecturer, said: "I thought that other people would have learnt from him (Durai), but apparently not. It would cause me to question the integrity of the heads of the charities and the charities themselves. I used to donate without thinking, but now I would think much more."

Susan Lee, an entrepreneur, said: "It sort of saddened me... I feel that it's the people who mismanaged it, not the organisation. So I will continue to donate because I wholeheartedly want to give to the charity and how they manage (the money) is up to them to answer for it."

Being answerable to donors is precisely what charities have to do today with the newly introduced Code of Governance, prescribing guidelines on how charities should be run.

Tan Chee Koon, CEO of National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, said: "If indeed there has been wrongdoing, then justice must, of course, take its natural course.

"It's not about the amount. I think for charities, we have to be purer than pure, and whiter than white. There's no shortcut to it because we are operating on public trust. And public trust has to be earned."

This latest incident involving Ren Ci has certainly disappointed many Singaporeans, but the consensus is to learn from any mistakes made, strengthen the safeguards within the charities and move on with the primary objective of helping the disadvantaged.


- CNA/so

at first i tot maybe there's some where not "ru2 fa3 如法"(not doing according to Dharma), but i'm now thinking, it could also be that Ven is Very 如法, hence "mara" are causing obstructions.

'mara obstructions' are quite common to great masters. like Buddha Shakyamuni himself, Master Hui Neng, Master Chin Kung...etcs.

so either not 如法 or very 如法.

/\

As a buddhist, I have mix feelings over this incidence, feeling embarassed, sad and loss confidence over sangha.  I really hope Ven Ming Yi did not commit those crime. Personally I think it is better for sangha to devote themselves to teachings of Dharma instead of involved in management of charitable organisations especially if they are not familiar with corporate governance, it will be very unworthy if they have to spent lots of time or risk their life to support such charities and yet to get themselves into trouble.    I would be happy to see if more Buddhists groups will be promoting more lively activities for the youth, learnt from other religious group such as organising prayers session in hotels ballroom (instead of in temples or outside Ngee Ann City which is hot and non aircon). If buddhist groups has excessive funds, better to build mega-temples, joint ventures with large companies such as Capitaland, Keppeland to invest in properties, shopping centres and etc. to get good investment return and plough back the funds to promotion of buddhism and win over more believers, even though it may seems materialists but AT LEAST it will be more rewarding, otherwise other religious group will not be going for these aggressively and not in trouble and manage to win many young devotees.

As a Catholic, I do not and will not judge Ven Ming Yi nor his religion.  Even if one day, the court proves him guilty and he admits to the guilt, instead of being disappointed, we should give him a chance to repent and time to atone for his sin by perhaps with more good deeds and helping more people next time.  Sorry, I'm not a Buddhist.  I dunno how to put in a more Buddhist way.   

Originally posted by Honeybunz:

As a Catholic, I do not and will not judge Ven Ming Yi nor his religion.  Even if one day, the court proves him guilty and he admits to the guilt, instead of being disappointed, we should give him a chance to repent and time to atone for his sin by perhaps with more good deeds and helping more people next time.  Sorry, I'm not a Buddhist.  I dunno how to put in a more Buddhist way.   

and maybe guide him to JC?

Originally posted by dumbdumb!:

and maybe guide him to JC?

We do not believe in saviors or that we need Jesus Christ to atone for sins.

It is however important to be repentant. (also see Repentance is a Demonstration of Wisdom)

Personally i feel that he did good by founding the hospital and being in-charge of so many organisations. For this he deserves credit. whether monk or not i think its only fair that people get renumerated for the things they do. after all we are in a world where money is the only thing which can get you material stuff and not all that love care bull-XXXX. Actually the donations he raked in easily covers for all that crap.  also since he founded the hospital its obviously reasonable for him to do/make certain decisions. and when theres a board of whatever shouldn't they be equally guilty if he is guilty?  would like to  highlight a few things like when a charity is under investigation i don't think they should lose their tax exempt status. Sometimes i think its better someone covers all these unnecessary stuff instead of making it into such a big issue. i'm sure they could give him a silent warning to step down from that hospital post and continue with his religious things. Why must we have all these negative media...

Good morning all,

I find typical buddhists' mentalitly kicks in again. When a good thing or good speech done by a monk, they will be quick to say claim that he is a monk with good cultivation, what he says make sense etc.

Now when a bad thing happened, as quoted from cycle, Ming Yi is now standing trial as a person and not a sangha.

Double standard here?

Why don't people say that when a monk did a good thing, he did it on a personal capacity and not a sangha?

Think about it.

The Buddhist Triplegem is the foundation for the Buddha-sansana to strive.

Buddha - the Founder and the Ideal Spiritual Goal that we are aspired to achieve.

Dhamma - the guidelines laid down by the Buddha that direct us to the Ideal Spiritual Goal

These two, are intangible, why? Firstly, Buddha had passed into parinibbana.

Secondly, the Dhamma, is literally beyond words, the values and spiritual qualities that we are cultivating, only we know our worth.

Sangha - the tangible part, because we are physical beings; we are the disciples of the Buddha. The traditional interpretation is that monks and nuns, a further extended interpretation will include layman and laywoman. I prefer the latter explaination, because no one single vocation exist on their own. Ordained and laypeople have their different duties and responsibilities to sustain the Buddha-sansana. No one is superior than the other in this sense.

Say a monk can be more spiritually cultivated, but he/she needs the materialistic support from the laypeople (unless it's those forest tradition hermit). So laypeople is important for the monk, by providing the monk with the necessities, thus, removing one of the problem that a monk would face, so that the monk can direct his energy into other thing. So monk, supposedly to be more spiritually attained, are obligated to live the Buddha's ideal, although I never believe that by shaving off one's hair would make one flawless.

In relation to Ming Yi's case, I agree with Mack x2's, that Ming Yi did a good thing by founding a hospital, it is not easy to start that big of a something out of nothing. I genuinely give credit to that. And that he put Buddha's compassion into action, benefitting many people out there.

However, why is it fast to claim that Ming Yi might have been framed (from another thread in sgforum), or that to have him put on trial as a person and not a sangha? Firstly, in Singapore, we do not have a genuine Sangha council, as cycle as said, by right should have disrobe Ming Yi before further misunderstanding might have occured, but then, we have no such council and no one has the right to have commission such a disrobe act on Ming Yi. But does it mean that if no one can disrobe Ming Yi, he is free from trial? No way right?

To say that the state should show respect to Buddhism, then how much are buddhists showing respect to themselves? Are buddhists abusing the Buddha's name for something else? Why there is not a Sangha Council to regulate ordination? There are many other finer issues involved here. So before we ask the state to respect Buddhism, Buddhism must respect the state!

To me, Ming Yi standing on trial is both as a person and a sangha, but probably a sangha that misrepresent that Triplegem. A monk is a human, he can flaw too. Why buddhist cannot accept that a monk can fail as a monk? Monk is not Buddha, always remember this.

However at this juncture, let the courts decide. And should the verdict be against his favour, then I hope the buddhist community will learn a big lesson and for all other buddhist organisations to exercise more vigiliance in their operations, and that fellow buddhists alike will be more mindful in their practices.

I won't reply to flames =)

Hi Yamizi,

Seems like U already "think" u would be "flamed"? Poor thing, who has flamed u ? Opposite opinions are not flaming...if not, then all good friends always seem to flame each other.  In this sense, maybe we can be super good friends. Well, all fellow Buddhists should be friends.

Anyway, I do agreed with many points u raised above. Can see that u really care about Buddhism. This is important and I must also remind myself to do so.

 Just want to give my point of view ( not flaming har) that Ven Ming Yi is standing trial as a person as I feel that a sangha if broken his precepts is already not considered as a sangha. That's why I always feel that untill truth are revealed, we should not help spread non substianciated rumors of the sangha ( or anyboby) around. 

Next, Buddhism did not disrespect the state, this is wrong speech. You can say Ven Ming Yi may have ( as not proven yet) disrespect Buddhism , not the other way round. And I mentioned that the Venerable should respect the Tripel gems by disrobing while in courts, not the state must respect the Triple Gems for the venerable alleged crimes. Maybe my post was long and boring, so it was possible u have misread them. My fault.

Whenever someone, regardless he is a monk or not, do good in actions or speech, gave wise and right views of the dharma, they should be praised. Becos by recognizing the goodness of others, we learn as well and encourage others to do the same. When  the ordained ones did wrong, regardless of whether there's a sangha council or not, they pay the price for their wrong doings eventually through cause and effects. No need to beat the drums and afraid that noboby knows it. This is called doing the opposite, this is indeed quite similar to "flaming". Please, I'm not saying about u har...I mean there are indeed many such fellow Buddhists around ie always stop at praisings, but never give up on mocking or berating the mistakes or downfall of others.

Yes, sometimes eg scolding can  be seen as a form of compassion ie to help someone to realised ones' mistakes and improve, but most of the times, it became the unconcious intention to shows that one is better than the other. Then we may have practice the opposite way.

I will also not reply to any "attacks".  I  have a very big ego ( which explains why I must practice triple hard), that's why cannot tahan if someone say things I find buay tahan, or else I lost... See, we can be super good friends.  

i long ago already suspected theres something fishy with him.

Originally posted by dumbdumb!:

and maybe guide him to JC?

haha.. we can talk about this in another platform some time. 

this is a Buddhism forum.  I cannot talk about bringing a monk into another faith.  Gotta be sensitive, ya?

I just hope people who used to believe in him can forgive him and those who used to support Renci can continue to support.  After all, the patients need help and they have done nothing wrong.

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

That's right, there is no reason for us to be bothered over these issues. Each is responsible for their own actions, not others.

There's a lot of things to be bothered and worry about.

The effect of this case on the reputation of Buddhism. The effect of this case on Ren Ci Hospital and it's patients. The effect of this case on charity organisations in general.

After the NKF saga, confidence in our local charity scene had already suffered a great deal of damage, mainly because NKF was one of the most trusted charity organisation in Singapore. Nevertheless, Ren Ci Hospital still received a relatively great amount of support because people see Ming Yi as a respectable, truly compassionate and uncorrupted leader. People trusted him.

But now that such a widely respected venerable and leader of a charity organisation has gotten himself into such controversy, it is not unimaginable that the public's confidence level may plumet all the way down this time. People now don't know who and what to trust anymore.

At the end of the day, the 'cause' laid down by a person could have a seriously negative 'effect' on so much more people. It's not just about 'his own cause and effect'.There's lots to be done before maximum damages are reached.

I do not know Venerable Ming Yi personally, so I guess I do not have any rights at all to judge him. Perhaps it is out of true compassion on his side when he gave out loans to his affliated companies to make investments in hope of reaping more money to benefit his patients. Maybe. I don't know.

But one thing for sure is that by breaking the coporate law regardless of his initial intention, he damaged the reputation of our charity scene. And that means much.

Venerable Ming Yi has indeed done a lot of good things for the welfare.
We can say that he do it as sangha or individual or both, it doesn't matter.
But if a monk did a bad thing, we cannot say that he do it as a monk/sangha, because buddhism teaching especially vinaya rule never require a monk to commit in bad thing.

As a monk, even if he get hold of millions of dollars, it is unlikely that he can use it for his own use in a way like what we layperson can do. For example, buying a mercedes, condo, landed property, go for overseas trip.

It is quite a sad thing that a very well known monk get arrested. We can hear without frowning hundreds cases of layperson or even buddhist commit in a crime, but if there is one case even though still on trial that involve a monk, that will make a big hooha.

Originally posted by cycle:

 

I may be wrong, but if the rules are to be followed, the venerable should remove his robes while in courts when facing his own charges ( or when handcuff or arrested by the police/authorities); becos one is being charged for wrong-doings himself, the Triple Gems is not involved. Buddha didn't teach anyone to commit the crime, the Buddhadharma shows the right way not wrong way, and the sangha group didn't abet it. This is to show respect to the Triple Gems, as well as to avoid misleading sentient beings into unkonwingly slandering Buddhism which may dash the hopes of some who may have interest in the Buddhadharma. 断众生慧命 。

What you had written here would have meant that the state is not showing respect to the Triplegem. You had better re-read before saying I misunderstood you.

And I didn't mean in anyway had Buddhism disrespect the state.

The fact is, no one has the right to disrobe Ming Yi, so whether you like it or not, he would be trial as a buddhist monk, and not a person per se. Of course, you can continue to insist once a monk behaves in a non-buddhistic way, to you he's not a monk. But the courtroom may not see it this way.

A problem with buddhists, are quick to give praises, whether substantiate or not; on the opposite end of the scale, they tend not to be forthcoming in giving honest thoughts, even if there's a serious issue. Somehow, lay buddhists have been successfully brainwash to give up critical thinking and analysis.

I believe I would be flamed because I usually get flamed what. What's new?

If he is guilty, he deserves the punishments he will get. Personally I dun like him, I find him fake. But no matter what, he is he, REN CI as a charity has helped many people, so I think we need to separate between him and the charity. If he is guilty, he will be punished but please dun punish the charity by stopping donations etc cos that will be punishing those patients who really need help.