Indian-origin former Singapore transport minister S Iswaran, convicted on September 24, 2024 for illegally accepting gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison — a punishment much stiffer than the 7 months that the prosecution wanted. Businessman Ong Beng Seng has been charged today for giving those gifts.
CNA quoted Justice Vincent Hoong as saying that he had considered the submissions from both prosecution and defence but that he was “ultimately unable to agree with both the positions taken” and decided to hand out a stiffer jail term to Iswaran. The ex-minister was also penalised for one charge of obstruction of justice.
“I’m of the view [that] it is appropriate to impose a sentence in excess of both parties’ positions,” said Justice Hoong, or else it would be a “manifestly inadequate sentence”.
Iswaran had been arrested on July 11, 2023, and then he quit the ruling party on January 18, 2024, vowing to clear his name. He also stepped down as a Member of Parliament. By March 25, 2024, eight new charges were added to the corruption case against him.
However, on September 24, the corruption charges against him were changed to lesser charges of obtaining gifts as a public servant. The value of the gifts totalled more than SGD 400,000.
Flight tickets, luxury hotel stays, Singapore F1 Grand Prix tickets, musical and football match tickets, a high-end bicycle, some golf clubs, bottles of expensive alcohol — these are among the gifts that Iswaran received from Ong Beng Seng and another businessman named Lum Kok Seng.
Upon his conviction, prosecution sought a jail term of 6-7 months for Iswaran. Defence argued for no more than 8 weeks in prison, and that, too, if a prison term was warranted for the lesser charges.
However, the judge took note of several other factors: the high office occupied by Iswaran when the offence was committed; the time period over which he had accepted those gifts; and the damage done to public trust in state institutions because of the former minister’s actions.
Lead counsel for defence Davinder Singh requested the court to give Iswaran time till 4pm on Monday, October 7, to surrender at the State Courts and begin his jail term. Iswaran is out at present on a bail bond of SGD 800,000.
According to a Reuters report, Ong Beng Seng, “who was named in several charges to which [Iswaran] was found guilty, is scheduled for a criminal mention on October 4”.
CNA reported today that “Ong, a 78-year-old property tycoon and hotelier, was handed one charge each under Section 165 and Section 204A of the Penal Code”.
- Section 165: Relates to a public servant obtaining valuables from a person involved in a proceeding or business with the public servant
- Section 204A: Relates to obstruction of justice
Ong Beng Seng had also been arrested in July 2023 — same time as Iswaran — and is also out on bail, like the ex-minister. Aside from being a property tycoon, he is known as the person who brought Formula One racing to Singapore.
Ong Beng Seng has been charged today following the conviction and sentencing in the Iswaran case, as was decided earlier by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
