Hospital chairman Chua Thian Poh said this at a press conference yesterday, two days after the charity's former chairman and chief executive, Buddhist monk Ming Yi, was charged with 10 counts of fraud, forgery and giving false information, among other things.
Among the charges against Ming Yi were those relating to questionable loans extended by Ren Ci. For example, Ming Yi told auditors that a $50,000 sum from Ren Ci was a loan to the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre to buy wood.
He also purportedly claimed that half of a $600,000 donation to Ren Ci was actually a loan to him.
When asked if the hospital had a practice of extending loans to other organisations, Mr Chua said: 'I think, after this incident, our corporate governance and audit committees have set out certain rules and regulations. We will not give any loans to outsiders. Even for personal loans to staff, there must be a good reason to give these.'
The hospital declined to divulge details on past policies, citing the pending court case. But Mr Chua revealed that the hospital did not own any property.
He made this point when asked whether the hospital had bought a unit in an upmarket condo off Holland Road.
Ming Yi is listed as one of the owners of the condo. The other owners include the Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery, of which he was the abbot.
When asked whether the hospital invested in other businesses, Mr Chua said: 'From now on, Ren Ci will not be investing in other businesses. We will most probably let fund managers manage our funds or put the money in fixed deposits.'
Last year, it was reported that the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, which used to sell Buddhist artefacts, was set up with loans from Ren Ci.
The aim was to plough back profits from the shop to Ren Ci, one of Mandala's owners told The Straits Times previously.
THERESA TAN