Shi Ming Yi

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Venerable Shi Ming Yi (Chinese: 释明义法师; born 1962) is 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. 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.

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 and PhD in Philosophy from Mannin University (UK). He took up the course so that he could manage the hospital better.

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.

[edit] Ren Ci Hospital

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]