Shi Ming Yi
| Shi Ming Yi | |
|---|---|
| Venerable |
Venerable Shi Ming Yi (Chinese: 释明义法师; born 1962) is one of the most well known representative of Buddhism in Singapore. He is currently the Abbot of Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery and Secretary General of the Singapore Buddhist Federation.[citation needed] In September 1994, Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery, under the leadership of Venerable Shi, established the 175-bed Ren Ci Hospital for the poor and needy chronically ill patients. He is currently under trial on charges of conspiracy, misuse of funds and forgery.
Awards
In 1996, the Singapore government awarded the Public Service Medal to Venerable Shi in recognition of his contributions to the country. In September 1998, the hospital established its affiliate, Ren Ci Day Care Centre for the Elderly. Venerable Shi received his Masters in Healthcare Management from the University of Wales.
Buddhist Work
Venerable Shi took over the abbotship of the Kun Chung Temple in Hong Kong, the Kwan Inn Temple in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, and the vice-chairmanship of the affiliated Heung Hoi Ching Kok Lin Association.
In 1999, Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery took over the management of 270 beds in 11 single-storey wards which were formerly part of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. It organises fund raising activities such as concerts with such luminaries as Andy Lau, Lisa Wang, Adam Cheng, Roman Tam, and Frances Yip who performed for free.
Ren Ci Hospital investigations
On 26 November 2007, Ren Ci Hospital was under investigation by The Charity Council of Singapore for 3 possible violations of the Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character. Venerable Shi was alleged to have made interest free loans in violation of Ren Ci's own guidelines on Financial Management and Controls and Disclosure and Transparency. And had also served as both Board Chairman and CEO of the hospital which is an infringement of existing guidelines since it creates a potential conflict of interest and a lack of check and balances.[1]
In the course of the investigations by auditing firm, Ernst & Young Associates, a few financial transactions could not be satisfactorily explained. To get a clearer picture, the Ministry of Health referred the case to the Commercial Affairs Department in February 2008 and the final outcome of the investigation is expected to be completed sometime in March 2008.[2]
Arrest
The long-time head of Ren Ci Hospital, the Venerable Ming Yi, was arrested after a five-month probe. On July 14, 2008, he stepped down from all his positions at the charity. The arrest comes five months after he went on long leave when the police were asked to probe the charity's finances. His trial commenced on July 15, 2008.
The Health Ministry found 'possible irregularities' in Ren Ci's books after an audit.
It is understood that Venerable Ming Yi, who is also an abbot at a Geylang monastery as well as several temples in Malaysia and Hong Kong, was arrested for criminal breach of trust.
At the heart of the issue were questionable loans made by the hospital, amounting to several million dollars. Some of these loans were allegedly given to companies with links to the Venerable Ming Yi.
There were also loans given to a helper with the charity as well as investments made over the years in his name. [3]
Controversy over PhD
When local newspaper, The Straits Times asked the Republic of Ireland Embassy here whether the university in question was real on November 19, 2007, the embassy said that the Irish Department of Education and Science did not recognise Mannin University or its qualifications.
Ireland's Higher Education Authority, the statutory body for higher education and research there, said there were seven official universities in Ireland, and Mannin was not one of them.
Press officers for both the department and the University College Dublin, one of the seven recognised Irish universities, said they had never heard of Mannin University.
Recognised institutions aside, the Department of Education and Science (Ireland) said that 'it cannot give advice on other organisations purporting to offer higher education programmes or comment on the quality of courses offered by such institutions'.
Venerable Ming Yi broke an earlier silence on the subject after repeated queries by The Straits Times.
Through a Ren Ci spokesman, he said that someone introduced him to the PhD programme at Mannin University while he was doing his master's in health-care management at the University of Wales, an accredited institution.
The spokesman said Venerable Ming Yi, a former student of Raffles Institution, did a distance learning course with Mannin University, but had never visited its campus.
He would not give any more details on how the monk obtained the PhD.
'Venerable Ming Yi did the PhD as he wanted to learn more, but he did not check if the university or its degrees are recognised,' he said. [4]
References
- ^ Ng, Julia. "Ren Ci may have flouted 3 governance guidelines: Council". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "CAD to investigate Ren Ci's financial transactions". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Ren Ci case: Arrest comes after five-month probe". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ "Ren Ci chief in new controversy over PhD". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
External links
- Biography from Buddha.sg
- "A monk first, a CEO second", The Straits Times & The Dhamma Times, 31 August 2001