Singapore’s Indian-Origin Ex-Minister Convicted, Faces Sentencing Next Month

Singapore: The sentencing of Singapore’s Indian-origin former transport minister S Iswaran, who was convicted of lesser charges of obtaining valuable things as a public servant and obstruction of justice on Tuesday, has been adjourned to October 3, a media report said.

 The bail of the 62-year-old former transport minister has been extended following Tuesday’s trial related to corruption charges, Channel News Asia reported.

 The prosecution sought a jail term of six to seven months for the minister who pleaded guilty on the first day of trial after saying for months that he would contest the case to clear his name.

 In closing the hearing, Justice Vincent Hoong thanked the defence and prosecution for their submissions and said he would need time to consider Iswaran’s sentence.

 Iswaran admitted to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids all public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity, and one charge of obstruction of justice, according to local media reports.

 Another 30 charges were to be taken into consideration for sentencing.

 The prosecution had sought six to seven months’ imprisonment for Iswaran, while the defence is arguing for no more than eight weeks in prison, if the judge finds that a jail term is warranted.

 After the charges were read to him, Iswaran was asked how he pleaded to them in the court.

 “Your Honour, I plead guilty,” he said.

 Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong told the court that the prosecution has replaced two corruption charges with two lesser charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

 The charges related to valuables including tickets to theatre shows, football matches and the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, whisky, international flights and a hotel stay. The amount involved is more than SGD 400,000 (over USD 300,000).

 Iswaran made a disgorgement of SGD 380,305.95 (USD 294,845) to the state on Monday. Bottles of whisky and wine, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle were also seized from him.

 Iswaran’s charges relate to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and construction firm boss Lum Kok Seng. Both businessmen have not been charged.

 The two amended charges involve Ong, who was the majority shareholder of Singapore GP at the time.

 In the first amended charge under Section 165, Iswaran was charged with obtaining from Ong, “for no consideration”, 10 Green Room tickets (worth SGD 48,150), eight Twenty3 tickets (worth SGD 56,068) and 32 general admission tickets (worth SGD 41,216) for the 2022 Singapore F1 Grand Prix in September 2022.

 In the second amended charge under Section 165, Iswaran is now charged with obtaining from Ong, again “for no consideration”, a private jet flight to Qatar (worth about SGD 10,410), a night’s stay in Four Seasons Doha (worth about SGD 4,737), and a business class flight from Doha to Singapore (worth about SGD 5,700) in December 2022.

 The amended charges also state that Iswaran knew that Ong, through Singapore GP, was concerned with the performance of the facilitation agreement between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for the   Singapore F1 Grand Prix 2022 to 2028, and this was connected with Iswaran’s official functions as minister and chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.

 The original charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act had stated that Iswaran “corruptly” obtained these gifts from Ong, and did so in exchange for advancing Ong’s business interests.

 In late 2021, Iswaran asked Lum to help him source for whisky and red wine. On November 14, 2021, Iswaran sent a picture of a bottle of whisky to Lum and asked him to check with his regular supplier on it.

Lum arranged to have two bottles of whisky and 12 bottles of wine delivered to Iswaran, who did not pay for them nor declare them to the government.

 Iswaran resigned from his government positions and the ruling People’s Action Party in January, after being notified of the criminal charges against him.

 Iswaran had faced a maximum jail term of seven years for obstructing justice under Section 204A of the Penal Code.

 He faced a maximum jail term of two years for obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant under Section 165 of the Penal Code. He can also be fined for the offences.

 This was Singapore’s first ministerial corruption trial in nearly half a century.

 The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessperson.

 Another Cabinet minister was investigated for graft in 1986 but died before charges were filed.

 Iswaran’s trial comes just over four months after Singapore installed new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down after 20 years at the helm. PTI GS PY