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Nov 7, 2007
Govt inquiry into Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre

An artist's impression of Ren Ci's new premises at Irawaddy Road. -- PHOTO: MOH

THE Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday that it is conducting an inquiry into Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre under the Charities Act.

This comes after the the ministry discovered some possible irregularities in certain financial transactions involving Ren Ci and some external organisation in an earlier general review into the charity's past dealings, which disclosed gaps in its corporate governance and internal controls.

An MOH statement announcing the inquiry into Ren Ci said in July 2006, the ministry appointed Ernst & Young Associates (EYA) to carry out a general review of the corporate governance on 12 larger Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs), including Ren Ci.

Completed in February 2007, the review covered areas such as corporate governance structures, internal controls, and compliance with IPC regulations.

The individual IPCs were asked to progressively put in place the recommended improvement measures. One recommendation was for Ren Ci to separate the roles of its Chairman and CEO, said MOH.

Two months ago, Mr Chua Thian Poh, Chairman and CEO of Ho Bee Group, took over the chairmanship of Ren Ci from Venerable Shi Ming Yi.

'As the general review into Ren Ci's past transactions also disclosed other gaps in corporate governance and internal controls, MOH commissioned EYA to carry out a more in-depth evaluation,' said the MOH statement.

'The follow-up reviews have since identified some possible irregularities in certain financial transactions involving Ren Ci and certain external organisations. Hence, MOH is commencing an Inquiry into Ren Ci to establish a fuller and better understanding of these irregularities.'

MOH is the administrator of the Health Sector under the Charities Act.

The inquiry, which is under the Charities Act, is expected to take about three months.

The ministry will announce the findings after the probe is completed and will take appropriate measures if there are any breaches.

In view of the ongoing inquiry, MOH said it will not renew Ren Ci's IPC status which expires on Nov 27.

Donations made by members of the public to Ren Ci after Nov 27 will not be tax-deductible.

'Pending the outcome of the Inquiry, MOH will evaluate when Ren Ci can apply to reinstate its IPC status,' said the ministry.

In the meantime, MOH will continue to subsidise Ren Ci's patient care services so that patients will continue to receive their medical treatments.

'We recognise the good work of Ren Ci's staff and we are confident that the Ren Ci Board will ensure that professional standards and services remain intact and the day-to-day operations in Ren Ci carry on undisrupted,' said the MOH statement.

Wah sia... scarly another one..then Singapore charity organisations no need to carry on already..

then NKF, now maybe Ren Ci?

I was shocked to read this too … even monks cannot be trusted, then who can you trust now ??

if its true, there's simply no one we can trust now

the ones who suffer most will be those who need us

you can't help but to feel like a sucker paying for a charity which is not 100% charitable ... sigh ....

tats the reason y i choose to donate my blood instead of $$..

i think ren ci can be trusted la. i'm no buddhist, but i quite highly respect monks. i'm sure everything will be alright.

and if something really turns up wrong, God did say all man are fallable creatures.

Isn't there a comment on the "top" monk having a high class $300++ vegetarian meal at Shangri-la & even a female person enter his room when he staying there?

dun say liddat lah.

eberitin not cnfmed yet.

may b sum admin errors leh.

charity organisation run like a business, no matter you are a monk or not, you will be money minded and money is the root of evil. Since one cannot identify the root of evil, what is the point of having religious people to run it???

out with it, what have you got under your robes?

Originally posted by Hello Kitty:

dun say liddat lah.

eberitin not cnfmed yet.

may b sum admin errors leh.

x2

i think this is like routine check?

Previous years they have been questioning the Renci ways of handling their accounts but they deny vehemently of any unscrupulous ways in their handling of funds. But then paper cannot wrap fire one leh. Sure to burn one.

Anyway who says monks can be trusted completely? No one can be trusted! Monks are human beings made of flesh and blood like you and me too. Sometimes along the way they 'zou huo ru mo' and began to deviate from the right path as the lure of the $$$ is simply to great to resist. 'Dao heng' not high enough. Just wait, the authority start to really check on the tooth relic temple as well then all hell break loose.

Ahhh… finally… long overdue.

hope can find fraud ~

Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, November 8

Ren Ci under probe after MOH found financial irregularities

SINGAPORE: One of Singapore’s biggest health charities is being probed for possible financial irregularities.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it is conducting an inquiry into Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre under Section 8 of the Charities Act.

This is after a review showed that there were irregularities in financial transactions involving Ren Ci and certain external organisations.

MOH added that Ren Ci’s past transactions also disclosed other gaps in corporate governance and internal controls.

MOH is conducting the probe as it is the administrator of the health sector under the Charities Act.

MOH said Ren Ci’s Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status expires on 27 November this year.

In view of the ongoing inquiry, which will take about three months, the IPC status will not be renewed for the time being.

So, donations made by the public to Ren Ci after 27 November will not be tax—deductible.

Pending the outcome of the inquiry, MOH will evaluate when Ren Ci can apply to reinstate its IPC status.

But MOH will continue to subsidise Ren Ci’s patient care services so that patients will continue to receive their medical treatments.

MOH added that it recognises the good work of Ren Ci’s staff.

It is also confident that the Ren Ci Board will ensure that professional standards and services remain intact and the day—to—day operations in Ren Ci carry on undisrupted.

The Ren Ci’s Board of Management Committee has assured to do this and it also promised to cooperate fully with MOH in the inquiry.

It added that it has "a culture of strong corporate governance and transparency", and when complaints are made, they will be fully investigated.

MOH will announce the findings after the inquiry is completed and will take appropriate measures if there are any breaches.

In July 2006, MOH appointed Ernst & Young Associates to conduct a general review of 12 large IPCs, including Ren Ci.

The review was completed in February this year. It covered areas such as corporate governance structures, internal controls, and compliance with IPC regulations.

Following the review, the individual IPCs were asked to progressively put in place the recommended improvement measures.

For Ren Ci, the MOH recommended that it separates the roles of its chairman and CEO, which until very recently was held by Venerable Shi Ming Yi.

In September, the chairman of Ho Bee Group, Mr Chua Thian Poh (previously a Ren Ci Board member) took over as Ren Ci’s chairman while Venerable Shi remains as its CEO.

When Channel NewsAsia visited Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre at Buangkok View on Wednesday evening, auditors from Ernst & Young Associates were carting files into the office.

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

In the 2004 financial year, Ren Ci reported an income of S$22.7million while NKF had S$108.7m and SingHealth $41.3m.

In May this year, the Ren Ci Charity Show raised $7.2m. — CNA/ir

More mega charity trouble
Ren Ci under probe for possible financial irregularities, IPC status won't be renewed
TODAYonline
Thursday • November 8, 2007
Lee U-Wen
u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg

LIKE the old National Kidney Foundation, it is well-known for its star-studded televised charity shows that rake in millions of dollars in donations.

Now, the Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre — one of the largest local charities, whose honorary chief executive officer, the Venerable Shi Ming Yi (picture), has become a household face with his fund-raising stunts — is under probe by the Government for its financial management.

Its status as an Institution of Public Character (IPC) will also not be renewed when it expires on Nov 27 — which means public donations made after then will not be tax-deductible.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it was commencing an inquiry into "some possible irregularities in certain financial transactions" involving the charity and other external organisations.

Ren Ci, whose last charity show in March raised $7.2 million, is one of 12 large IPCs under the ministry's purview. In July last year, the MOH had appointed one of the "Big 4" accounting firms, Ernst & Young Associates, to conduct an eight-month corporate governance review exercise involving all 12 IPCs.

The firm had looked at each organisation's accountability and transparency of its operations, and drawn up a list of recommendations for each. In Ren Ci's case, one suggestion was to separate the roles of its chairman and chief executive officer, which were jointly held by the Venerable Shi, 45. This was in keeping with the practice that board and management remain independent of each other.

In September this year, Ren Ci duly complied and named Mr Chua Thian Poh, chairman and CEO of Ho Bee Group, as its new chairman. However, the review into the charity's past transactions also "disclosed other gaps in corporate governance and internal controls", according to the MOH in a statement.

This prompted the ministry to commission Ernst & Young to carry out "a more in-depth evaluation", which turned up the possible irregularities. Hence, it is now "commencing an inquiry into Ren Ci to establish a fuller and better understanding of these irregularities", said the MOH. The ministry, the administrator of the health sector under the Charities Act, will announce its findings after the inquiry is completed in February and take action if required.

Responding, Ren Ci said it has a strong culture of corporate governance and would cooperate fully in the investigations. At the hospital's Buangkok View premises yesterday, auditors were seen carting files into the office.

Observers say that for the public to pass judgment on the charity without knowing more details would be "jumping the gun".

Associate Professor Mak Yuen Teen, director of the Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting Centre at the National University of Singapore Business School, said it is likely the investigations had uncovered "conflicts of interest", where one or more Ren Ci board members failed to disclose their roles in other organisations. "It could involve a situation where a board member has an interest in transactions and did not declare this as it could lead to them losing their position on the board," said Prof Mak.

Or, he said, it could simply be a case of ignorance on the board members' part, with no intent to deceive. "That's why it's important for board members to understand their responsibilities … In the eyes of the law, there is no such thing as ignorance and any breach is seen as breaking the law," he said.

Meanwhile, the loss of IPC status for Ren Ci could mean a drop in donations.

The charity's latest annual report showed that as of March 31, donations, grants, investment gains and other receipts for the last financial year totalled $30.3 million — up 16 per cent — while expenses amounted to $18.8 million, an 8 per cent rise. The ratio of its reserves to annual operating expenditure was 1.9.

Of the money raised from this year's charity show, $1.5 million has been set aside for the new Ren Ci Hospital in Irrawaddy Road, to be completed next year.

The ministry said it recognised the good work of Ren Ci's staff and would continue to subsidise its patient care services so that patients will continue to receive their medical treatments.

"We are confident that the Ren Ci board will ensure that professional standards and services remain intact and the day-to-day operations carry on undisrupted," said the statement. As of March, the charity employed 326 staff.

An MOH spokesman told Today the ministry did not expect to carry out similar enquiries on any of the other 11 IPCs.

Lol,all of them also like that

haiz.... money makes the world goes round......let's hope it's not another organisation that will dampen the charity at heart and leaving those really in need in limbo

Originally posted by ORIGAMIST:

I was shocked to read this too ... even monks cannot be trusted, then who can you trust now ??

Trust the nuns

Ren Ci under probe for financial discrepancies
Loans to several firms believed to be source of problem; charity to lose IPC status on Nov 27
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Prime News
November 8, 2007
Author: Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

ANOTHER charity has come under probe.

Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre is being investigated by the Health Ministry for possible financial discrepancies, believed to have arisen from a few million dollars in interest-free loans to several companies in the past decade.

The largest charity under the Health Ministry after the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), Ren Ci will lose its Institution of Public Character (IPC) status on Nov 27, when it is due to be renewed.

This means that it can accept donations, but donors will not get tax exemptions.

Ren Ci will continue tending to its 120 nursing-home patients and 300 chronically sick patients at its facilities in Jalan Tan Tock Seng and Buangkok through the probe.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told The Straits Times last night that he believed in a 'firm, fair and transparent' approach to the probe.

While an inquiry was called for because the transactions had not been 'well explained' by Ren Ci's management, he said 'we should not jump to any conclusion until the inquiry is completed. That will not be fair to the parties involved'.

His ministry said yesterday that a review of the charity had turned up 'possible irregularities in certain financial transactions' involving Ren Ci and some external parties, and that an inquiry would clarify them.

The Straits Times understands that several companies had been given loans, some amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. But Ren Ci's books recorded loans that, in some cases, were several hundred thousand dollars more than what was reflected in the borrowers' books.

These irregularities surfaced in the wake of the ministry tightening corporate governance among the charities under its wing last year, following the NKF scandal of 2005.

In July last year, the ministry appointed accounting firm Ernst & Young to carry out a general review of the operations at its 12 largest IPCs, including Ren Ci.

At the end of the review in February, Ren Ci was asked to split the role of board chairman and chief executive officer.

Both positions were then held by Venerable Ming Yi, a colourful character who has performed death-defying stunts in the charity's popular annual televised fund-raisers.

He has since become Ren Ci's honorary CEO. Mr Chua Thian Poh, chief executive of property developer Ho Bee Group, became the charity's chairman in September.

The ministry next got Ernst & Young to delve deeper into Ren Ci's operations, which was when the loan discrepancies were uncovered.

Yesterday, the ministry informed the Ren Ci board that a probe under the Charities Act would be convened. This is expected to take three months, after which the findings will be disclosed and 'appropriate measures' taken.

Auditors were seen moving files into a room on the ground floor of the hospital's Buangkok premises just before 7pm yesterday.

Venerable Ming Yi was seen on the premises, but declined to take calls to his cellphone.

Mr Chua, contacted in China, where he is on a business trip, declined comment and referred The Straits Times to a statement put out by Ren Ci, which said: 'Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre has a culture of strong corporate governance and transparency. When complaints are made, they will be fully investigated.

'We would like to reassure the public that the professional standards and services of Ren Ci will remain intact and the day-to-day operations and patient care will carry on undisrupted.'

The charity employs more than 300 people and earned about $30 million last year - $9.5 million from donations, $10 million from grants and sponsorships, and $9.8 million from fund-raisers and other activities.

salma@sph.com.sg

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

The monk who became the face of Ren Ci
Venerable Ming Yi's stunts turned him into an instant star and Ren Ci became a well-known charity
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Singapore
November 8, 2007
Author: Ho Ai Li

IT WAS in 1994 that a young Buddhist monk took over the chronic sick unit at the old Woodbridge Hospital and Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre was born.

The monk was the Venerable Ming Yi, then 33 and abbot of the Foo Hai Ch'an monastery in Geylang East, which assumed responsibility for the 174-bed unit.

He said he decided to act after hearing about the plight of the chronically sick from Member of Parliament Yu-Foo Yee Shoon.

Today, Ren Ci, which means compassion in Chinese, is a household name in the charity sector with an income of $30 million for the financial year 2007.

Its premises at Jalan Tan Tock Seng and at its Buangkok View base provided care for 119 nursing home patients and 295 chronic sick patients, as of September.

Ren Ci remained relatively low-profile through the 1990s, despite fund-raisers at the now defunct Neptune Theatre in 1995 and a 1999 stunt show at the National Stadium featuring the late Taiwanese stuntman Blackie Ko and actors like Andy Lau and Eric Tsang.

Things changed when it held its first televised fund-raiser over Channel U in 2003 and raked in $6.5 million from TV viewers who phoned in their donations.

The Venerable Ming Yi became the instant star of the show when he performed a daredevil stunt, abseiling down the 45-storey Suntec Tower Two during that maiden TV charity show.

His performance had TV viewers calling in to donate at least $1 million and he was the talk of the town.

Since then, Ren Ci has held a TV fund-raiser every year, with the Venerable Ming Yi's stunt being the most anticipated highlight.

He immersed himself in a container filled with 1,000kg of ice in 2004, then balanced on a five-storey structure for nearly two hours the following year. Last year, he walked across 20m-long, 15cm-wide parallel beams suspended outside the 66th floor of Republic Plaza.

In March this year, he tried to pull himself up the 23-storey City House building in Shenton Way using a rope and pulley but had to stop at the 17th floor when he was in danger of hurting himself.

These shows and other fund-raisers brought in about $11 million in the 2005 financial year and about $12 million the following year but takings declined to $9.78 million in the 2007 financial year.

But at the same time, Ren Ci has seen its income soar from another source - tax-free donations, which rose from $1.98 million in financial year 2005 to $8.8 million in financial year 2007.

In the wake of the National Kidney Foundation scandal in 2005, there was discussion about the Venerable Ming Yi's pay as Ren Ci chairman and chief executive officer.

He quashed talk that he earned more than $10,000 a month, saying that he was just a volunteer and that his salary was taken care of by his monastery.

The only period when he accepted a salary from Ren Ci was while his monastery was being restored. For four years, he received $12,000 a month but donated $6,000 back to Ren Ci.

He said it was Dr Ong Seh Hong, then clinical director and chief operating officer (COO), who was the highest-paid staff member at Ren Ci, drawing a monthly pay of $14,000.

Dr Ong, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, stepped down as COO last year but remains in the key management position of clinical director.

The Venerable Ming Yi has remained the face of Ren Ci, and has attracted attention and some controversy over the years.

An old boy of Raffles Institution, articulate in English, and equipped with a master's degree and PhD, his seemingly worldly image puzzled some who noted his jetting about and being seen with celebrities in Hong Kong.

Last year, he told Shin Min Daily News that he flew economy class on study trips to other hospitals. But if believers invited him overseas and provided first-class air travel, he would not decline.

'If a believer invites you for a meal and takes you to a good restaurant, does it mean I can go only to the foodcourt because of my Ren Ci links?' he asked.

Ren Ci has about 300 employees. Its long list of patrons, advisers and other supporters reads like a who's who of current and retired politicians and civil servants and people in the private sector as well.

Its website names its key officials as the Venerable Ming Yi; Dr Ong; director of nursing Lim Joo Hong; director of the CEO's office Susan Yeow; and assistant director of the clinical director's office Puah Swee Lin.

Next year was due to mark a major milestone for Ren Ci with the opening of its new 277-bed Ren Ci Hospital, in Irrawaddy Road, next to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

It also has an upcoming fund-raiser - the Thousand Hand Guan Yin charity concert to be held on Nov 16 and 17.

The Venerable Miao Quan, the charity's corporate affairs administrator, told The Straits Times last night that the event, like Ren Ci, will carry on even as the Ministry of Health's (MOH) probe gets under way.

'We feel that what we do is very open and transparent,' she said.

'Like our financial statements, they are all available to the public. Whatever the MOH wanted, we have given. The public will see that.'

hoaili@sph.com.sg

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited