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SINGAPORE – Twenty-one men and women from the unregistered local chapter of a secret South Korean church were arrested for allegedly being members of an illegal society, the Interior Ministry (MHA) said on Wednesday (November 11).
The nine men, between 22 and 31 years old, and 12 women, between 21 and 49 years old, were detained on Monday by police officers from the Department of Criminal Investigation, the MHA reported.
Preliminary investigations revealed that they had allegedly re-engaged in activities related to the unregistered local chapter of the Church of Jesus Shincheonji, the Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony, known as SCJ, which has been called a cult in various countries.
Another group of nine women, between 22 and 52 years old, and two men, between 23 and 36 years old, are assisting the police in the investigations.
Founded by South Korean citizen Lee Man-hee in 1984, the church has been accused of being a cult in several countries because of its unorthodox teachings, the MHA said.
Mr. Lee supposedly considers all other churches and pastors to belong to Satan. It has also claimed to be the second coming of Christ who will take 144,000 people to heaven with him on Judgment Day, the ministry said.
Lee has also claimed to be the only person who can interpret the Bible, while SCJ teaches that it is acceptable to use deception and lies if it serves God’s purposes, the MHA said.
“She has been accused of infiltrating and disrupting established Korean churches through deception and secrecy to trick people into getting involved with them,” he added.
In February, five South Korean nationals who held key positions in the local chapter were repatriated from Singapore and the group’s front entities disbanded, following MHA investigations earlier this year into the group’s activities, the ministry said Wednesday. .
The MHA had previously investigated the group’s activities in February for using deceptive recruitment methods, similar to those of the SCJ in South Korea, to exert a controlling influence on Christian youth and young adults in Singapore, and to conceal their existence. to family members and people who do not belong to the SCJ. contacts.
Members of the local chapter were also warned to stop participating in church activities, or face further action from authorities, the MHA said.
“Despite the actions taken, the local SCJ chapter has covertly resumed its activities, under the direction of its parent chapter in South Korea,” he added.
“As such, the CID is investigating members of the local SCJ chapter for possible crimes under the Companies Act.”
Anyone convicted of being a member of an illegal society can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to $ 5,000, or both.
“MHA will not allow members of illegal societies or persons associated with them to threaten the public safety, peace and good order of Singapore,” the ministry said.
In February, the Minister of Law and Home Affairs, K. Shanmugam, said that the MHA was seeking to ban the activities of the local SCJ chapter. The church in South Korea was at the center of that country’s coronavirus outbreak.
Shanmugam had told reporters that the group, which has fewer than 100 members here, was being investigated under “national security legislation.”
He added that while people in Singapore are free to believe in any religion and practice it however they want, the government will intervene when “crossing the line of crime or potential public safety problems.”
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