Cell Groups And China Wine: Social Media Highlights From #CHCVerdict

Liang Hwei

October 22, 2015

As the verdict for the City Harvest trial went live yesterday, netizens took to social media platforms to share their views and watch the drama unfold. The hashtags #CHCverdict and #CHCtrial went viral yesterday afternoon, as Singapore’s trolls and tweeters took to the Internet to poke fun at the megachurch and Sun Ho.

You have to give Singaporeans props for putting a hilarious twist on a serious situation like this:

My face when people still support City Harvest Church despite the guilty verdict.#CHCtrial pic.twitter.com/MewDWKRaPA

— Rui En (@RuiEnBlackFace) October 21, 2015

"cell group" is a literal thing now. #CHCtrial

— jonathan ho (@TheSoliloguy) October 21, 2015

Most of the jokes, unsurprisingly, were directed at Sun Ho and her blip of a music career.

All 6 including KongHee in #CHCTrial saga found guilty.

Sun Ho, for hurting our ears and eyes, walk free.

— Fake PM Lee (@Fake_PMLee) October 21, 2015

I would argue that their biggest crime of all is Sun Ho's music videos. #CHCtrial #CHCverdict

— VAR apologist (@ILKJ93) October 21, 2015

Wine gets better with age. Apparently that is not the case with China Wine. #CHCtrial

— Hamka Afiq Mohamed (@hamkafiqs) October 21, 2015

Others turned their attention to Serina Wee, former finance chief of City Harvest Church (CHC), whom many now dub as potentially the hottest jailbird around.

So all six leaders accused in the CHC trial were found guilty… BUT Mr Judge, you forgot one thing!! #CHCtrial pic.twitter.com/UbzIbsLNS8

— SGAG (@SGAG_SG) October 21, 2015

If @konghee would had funded Serina Wee for her music career as 'religious mission' instead of Sun Ho, he wouldn't be here #truestory

— Captain Elsa (@edwinisdenim) October 21, 2015

RT if you think Sun Ho should go to jail instead of Serina Wee.#CHCTrial

— Fake PM Lee (@Fake_PMLee) October 22, 2015

But jokes and jeers aren’t the only social media posts worth looking out for. The trial, after all, is a big issue for many people. For CHC members, it’s a serious blow. For others, it begets a question of how much religion and business should mix. Good guy tweeter @kylemalinda even shared a link to the full verdict, which is definitely worth a read for any discerning spectator.

#CHCTrial: (Until this link disappears) Read the full verdict of the City Harvest trial by judge See Kee Oon here https://t.co/lfhwgDlqzA

— Kyle Malinda-White (he/him) ???? (@kylemalinda) October 21, 2015

Understandably, many tuned in to hear from CHC themselves. Sun Ho’s post-verdict Facebook post urging the CHC community to “have a unity that is unbreakable” has been shared over a hundred times, while CHC’s news platform, City News, regularly tweeted through the court proceedings to give their point of view. Their tweet with the highest retweets reiterated that “CHC will forge on despite conviction”.