Iswaran gets 8 new charges of obtaining S$19,000 in valuables such as whisky, Brompton bike from construction firm boss

SINGAPORE: Former Transport Minister S Iswaran returned to court on Monday (Mar 25) to receive eight fresh charges, two months after he was first charged with multiple offences including corruption.

The eight new charges come under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for public servants to obtain valuable items from someone involved with them in an official capacity. 

Iswaran is accused of obtaining items such as bottles of whisky, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle from Mr Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings.

It is the parent company of Lum Chang Building Contractors, which won a contract in 2016 for works at Tanah Merah MRT station.

Although Iswaran became Transport Minister only in 2021, charge sheets stated that he knew about Mr Lum's business connections to his ministerial role when the offences allegedly occurred between November 2021 and November 2022.

The 61-year-old pleaded not guilty as well to the new charges. He now faces a total of 35 charges.

The items Iswaran was alleged to have received were worth nearly S$19,000 (US$14,110), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a separate statement on Monday.

He allegedly obtained the following items from Mr Lum between November 2021 and November 2022:

Court documents stated Mr Lum's connection with a "T315" contract for addition and alteration works to the existing Tanah Merah Station and existing viaducts.

The contract between Lum Chang Building Contractors and LTA, awarded in 2016, was worth S$325 million.

The project includes the construction of an additional platform and concourse in Tanah Merah Station, along with two entrances linked by an underpass near the Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue intersection.

It also includes the addition of tracks and viaducts that will run parallel to the existing East-West Line as well as connections to a new depot.

Lum Chang Building Contractors has another ongoing project with LTA, involving the construction of the North-South Corridor (Tunnel) between Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and Ang Mo Kio Ave 9. The project was awarded in December 2018.

LTA said on Monday that it has not awarded any contracts to the company since 2019. 

Separately on Monday, LTA told CNA that the Ministry of Transport "is not involved in LTA's procurement approval or the contract management of LTA's construction projects".

These are handled by the LTA board or senior tender board and senior management, it said.

LTA added that it had in November 2021 "excluded Lum Chang from a pre-qualification to participate in a tender to construct the Punggol station and tunnels of the Cross Island Line extension due to its poor safety records".

In response to queries from the media regarding Mr Lum, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said that it "will take a decision in respect of the investigations against Mr Lum Kok Seng after the case against Mr S Iswaran has been completed, including the presentation of evidence in court".

"At the material time, Mr Lum Kok Seng was the managing director of Lum Chang Holdings Limited," it said.

In January, AGC made a similar statement regarding Mr Ong Beng Seng. Most of Iswaran's initial 27 charges were for receiving "valuable things" from Mr Ong between 2015 and 2022.

Lum Chang Holdings said in a stock exchange filing on Monday evening it is aware that Mr Lum has been named in connection with Iswaran's case.

"The board will make the appropriate announcement(s) as and when there are material developments relating to the matter," it added.

IN COURT

The new charges come barely a week after Iswaran returned to Singapore from a court-approved trip to Australia, which was extended due to his illness.

He arrived at the drop-off point of the State Courts more than half an hour early with his lawyers Mr Navin Thevar, Mr Rajvinder Singh and Ms Sheiffa Safi Shirbeeni of Davinder Singh Chambers.

Senior Counsel Davinder Singh was not present.

Chief Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng appeared for the prosecution, flanked by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jiang Ke-Yue and Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelvin Chong.

Mr Tan said there were two purposes of the court hearing - first to tender the additional charges and second to have the new charges transferred to the High Court.

Asked to give his plea, Iswaran said: "Not guilty."

Mr Thevar then asked the prosecution to let the court and defence know if it intends to file any further charges against Iswaran.

"Now the defence is raising this, your honour, because of the following circumstances: On Jan 5, 2024, the prosecution recorded 36 cautioned statements from our client," said Mr Thevar.

"These eight that were filed today were not part of the 36. However, at the first mention on Jan 18, 2024, the prosecution gave the defence only 27 charges without telling the defence it was not proceeding on nine charges, and your honour will recall that when we learnt there were 27 and not 36, we raised (this) to the court."

Mr Thevar continued: "The prosecution said they had decided to drop nine charges after having considered all the evidence in this case. There was no mention of the possibility of more charges."

The lawyer said the defence wrote to the prosecution on Jan 31 to inform that Iswaran intended to apply for an early trial so the matter could be fully aired and decided as soon as possible. 

The prosecution did not mention the possibility of more charges in its response, Mr Thevar said.

"On Mar 16, three days before the first CCDC (criminal case disclosure conference) in High Court on Mar 19, CPIB asked our client to attend at its offices on Mar 18," the lawyer said.

When Iswaran went to CPIB's office on Mar 18, he was served the eight new charges and CPIB took cautioned statements from him, said Mr Thevar.

"It is not clear why these eight charges have been brought only now," he said. "I should highlight to your honour that they relate to matters CPIB had already asked our client about in July and August last year. Our client was not even asked to attend any further interviews to answer any question about those matters."

Mr Thevar said Iswaran asked the CPIB officer on Mar 18 when the new charges would be brought in court, and the response was that a decision had not been made as to whether the eight charges would be brought.

Iswaran was informed only on Mar 22 that the prosecution had decided to file the eight charges against him, said Mr Thevar.

In response, the Chief Prosecutor said: "All charges are tendered against the accused person in this case based on evidence received by CPIB and reviewed by AGC."

He added that this was not the right forum for the defence to raise these matters and that he could raise them before the High Court.

He asked the court to have the charges transferred to the High Court for the next CCDC on Apr 2.

The judge got Iswaran's bailor to acknowledge the new charges and transferred the eight new charges to the High Court for the purpose of trial.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

Iswaran was first handed 27 charges in January, comprising two of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one of obstructing justice and 24 of obtaining valuables as a public servant under the Penal Code.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges, which related to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP.

The first set of charges accuse Iswaran of corruptly receiving more than S$166,000 worth of flights, hotel stays and tickets to events in exchange for advancing the billionaire's business interests.

He is separately accused of obtaining about S$218,000 worth of valuable items in his capacity as a minister who also dealt with Mr Ong and his company. Iswaran was chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.

Iswaran resigned from his positions in government two days before his first court appearance in January.

He had previously been placed on a leave of absence pending an investigation by the CPIB. 

If convicted of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant, Iswaran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

If convicted of corruptly obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.

If convicted of obstructing justice, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.