Serina Wee released from jail after serving 20 months

Closure for Wee.

Belmont Lay | December 29, 2018, 01:01 AM

Serina Wee, the former City Harvest Church (CHC) finance manager, has been released from prison.

The Singapore Prisons Service confirmed her release with The Straits Times on Friday, Dec. 28.

Wee, who turned 42 on Dec. 12, was released from custody on Dec. 21, 2018.

She started her sentence on April 21, 2017.

This means she served a total of 20 months.

Inmates in Singapore are typically given one-third remission of their jail terms for good behaviour.

She was initially sentenced to five years in prison, but it got reduced to two years six months (or 30 months) on appeal.

She and her husband, Kenny Low, have three children.

Chapter closes

The CHC marathon trial started in 2013.

Six former CHC leaders were jailed for misappropriating millions in church funds.

In 2015, the six were given jail terms ranging from 21 months to eight years for criminal breach of trust.

Wee is the third to complete serving the jail term.

Former finance manager Sharon Tan, 43, and former finance committee member John Lam, 50, had been released earlier.

They were given seven months' jail, and one-and-a-half year's jail, respectively.

Kong Hee, 54, deputy senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, 46, and former fund manager Chew Eng Han, 58, have not completed their sentences.

All except Chew started serving their jail terms on April 21 last year.

Background

On April 7, 2017, the jail terms were slashed to between seven months and three-and-a-half years, after a three-judge High Court ruled that they were guilty of a less serious form of criminal breach of trust.

Kong Hee's jail sentence was reduced from eight years to three-and-a-half years.

He could be out of jail in two years four months in August 2019.

Wee and Lam were struck off as members of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, the national accountancy body, on April 9, 2018.

A brief history: