Iswaran charged with multiple offences including corruption, resigns as Transport Minister
Former Transport Minister S Iswaran pleaded not guilty to 27 charges, including corruption, obtaining valuables as a public servant and obstructing justice.
- Among the charges, Iswaran is accused of corruptly receiving more than S$166,000 worth of flights, hotel stays and tickets to events in exchange for advancing the business interests of property tycoon Ong Beng Seng
- He also faces a charge of obstructing justice, relating to a repayment he allegedly made to Singapore GP for the cost of a business flight ticket from Doha to Singapore
- A pre-trial conference has been fixed on Mar 1, after some back-and-forth in court when Iswaran's lead lawyer Davinder Singh raised a matter with the judge on the number of charges
SINGAPORE: Former Transport Minister S Iswaran was charged in court on Thursday (Jan 18) with multiple offences including corruption and obtaining valuables as a public servant, months after a probe into him was made public.
He pleaded not guilty to 27 charges in all, relating 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.
Iswaran, who resigned from his positions in government on Tuesday, is accused of corruptly receiving more than S$166,000 (US$123,570) 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 in his role as chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.
The 61-year-old appeared at the court building at about 8.10am flanked by lawyers from Davinder Singh Chambers - led by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.
He made no comment to the crowd of reporters that was waiting for him.
CHARGES
The 27 charges comprise 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.
The first corruption charge alleges that Iswaran, in his capacity as a government minister, corruptly obtained gratification totalling S$145,434 from Mr Ong. This was in exchange for advancing the latter's business interests relating to a contract between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Iswaran is accused of corruptly obtaining 10 Green Room tickets, eight tickets named "Twenty3" and 32 general admission tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix in September 2022.
The second corruption charge states that Iswaran corruptly obtained from Mr Ong in December 2022 gratification in exchange for advancing his business interests over a contract with a public body over the Singapore GP-STB facilitation agreement, as well as a proposal for a contract with STB to establish the ABBA Voyage virtual concert in Singapore.
He is accused of corruptly obtaining from Mr Ong an outbound flight on his private plane from Singapore to Doha worth about US$7,700, one night's stay in Four Seasons Doha worth about S$4,738, as well as a business class flight from Doha to Singapore worth about S$5,700.
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The charge of obstructing justice relates to a repayment of S$5,700 he allegedly made to Singapore GP around May 25, 2023.
That was the cost of his business flight ticket from Doha to Singapore that he took on Dec 11, 2022, at Mr Ong's expense through Singapore GP, the charge sheet stated.
The remaining 24 charges are for obtaining valuable items as a public servant.
These cover a period between November 2015 and December 2021, during which he allegedly obtained the following as a Singapore minister:
- Two tickets to the show Thriller worth about £200 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK), whom he knew to have a connection with his official function as chairman of the F1 Steering Committee
- Two tickets to the show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time worth about £270 from Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Two tickets to the football match for West Ham United FC v Everton FC (Boleyn Ground) worth about ÂŁ468 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings UK
- Two tickets to the football match for Arsenal FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC (Emirates) worth about ÂŁ550 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Ten Green Room tickets to the 2016 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$42,265 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Ten Green Room tickets to the 2017 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$42,265 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Five Boardwalk tickets to the 2017 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$40,000 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Four tickets to the show Book of Mormon worth about ÂŁ540Â from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the football match of Chelsea FC v Southampton FC (Stamford Bridge) worth about ÂŁ700 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the shows Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Part 1Â and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Part 2, worth about ÂŁ1,000 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the football match for Arsenal FC v Liverpool FC (Emirates) worth about ÂŁ1,100Â from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the show Kinky Boots worth about £300 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Six Twenty3 tickets to the 2018 Singapore Formula Grand Prix worth about S$13,193.10 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Thirteen general admission tickets to the 2018 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$16,744 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Four tickets to the show The Play That Goes Wrong worth about £380 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the show School of Rock worth about £560 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the football match for Chelsea FC v Manchester City FC worth at least ÂŁ120Â from Mr Ong
- Four tickets to the show Hamilton worth about £400 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the show Waitress worth about £524 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Four tickets to the show Betrayal worth about £1,080 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Six Green Room tickets to the 2019 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$26,643 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Sixteen general admission tickets to the 2019 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix worth about S$20,608 from Mr Ong through Singapore GP
- Two tickets for the show Back to the Future worth about £449 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
- Two tickets to the show &Juliet worth about £250 from Mr Ong through Como Holdings (UK)
Iswaran, who was also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, had been actively involved in the government’s engagements with F1, including making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event’s future have been made.
He was arrested on Jul 11 last year.
The arrest was made public on Jul 14, although no details were provided at the time on the nature of the investigation. What was known was that Mr Ong had been arrested as well and asked to provide information relating to his interactions with the minister.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said on Thursday that it will make a decision about the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigation into Mr Ong after the case against Iswaran is completed.
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.
WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT
Dressed in a blue shirt and a dark jacket, Iswaran entered the courtroom at about 8.15am and stood in a huddle with his lawyers for almost an hour, listening to the charges being pre-read to him by a court employee.
District Judge Brenda Tan, who was presiding over the mentions court on Thursday morning, entered the courtroom at about 9.05am.
The prosecution was a three-man team led by Chief Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng, along with Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jiang Ke-Yue and Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelvin Chong.
Iswaran was represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, Mr Navin Thevar, Mr Rajvinder Singh and Ms Sheiffa Safi Shirbeeni.
Chief Prosecutor Tan listed the charges Iswaran faced and asked for his plea to be taken. "CP, you are asking for the plea to be taken now?" asked Judge Tan.
Chief Prosecutor Tan confirmed this, and Iswaran spoke, saying: "Yes, I intend for the plea to be taken now. Not guilty, your honour."
The prosecutor then asked for the case to be adjourned for a pre-trial conference. He asked for agency bail - of S$800,000 - to be extended to Iswaran.
Iswaran's lead lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, then raised "a matter" with the judge on the number of charges.
He said: "Your honour, on Monday, the CPIB charged my client with 36 charges and took cautioned statements on all 36 charges. This morning, we learnt from documents that were handed to us by the prosecution that there are now 27 charges."
"I'd like to know from my learned friend whether the prosecution is proceeding with the remaining nine charges," said Mr Singh, turning to the chief prosecutor.
Chief Prosecutor Tan replied that the prosecution is not proceeding with the other nine charges after "considering all the evidence that was in this case".
Mr Singh then asked the court to note this decision.
"It would appear that in the matter of two days, a decision has been taken not to proceed with the nine charges," Mr Singh told the judge.
"According to my learned friend, that is because they have reviewed all the evidence. But I would have thought, your honour, that the evidence would've been reviewed thoroughly before the 36 charges were levelled against my client on Monday. And so, for now, all I would say is that it is surprising but highly significant that after what I assumed was a thorough review and the levelling of the nine charges, in a matter of two days, there has been a complete change of position. I will say no more about that for now," said Mr Singh.
In response, Chief Prosecutor Tan said: "I think my learned friend will understand that the evidence will include whatever the accused has stated in his cautioned statements. That's all I have to say so far. If my learned friend wants to pursue this subsequently we will address it in future."
After further back-and-forth, the judge fixed the case for a pre-trial conference on Mar 1.
After the charging, Iswaran retreated to a nook just outside the courtroom where he spoke to his lawyers for several minutes before choosing to take the escalators down four floors instead of the lift.
In a statement released after the hearing, Iswaran said he rejected the charges and the allegations against him.
"I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name," he wrote, adding that he resigned from his political offices "even without being asked to do so" and because he believed "it was the right thing to do".
POLITICAL CAREER
Iswaran was appointed Minister for Transport in May 2021. His political career spanned more than 26 years since he was first elected in 1997 as a Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC.
Before he was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006, he served on several government parliamentary committees and was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had placed Iswaran on a leave of absence during the CPIB investigation.
Mr Lee later revealed in parliament that Iswaran had his pay cut to S$8,500 (US$6,390) a month until further notice. But he was allowed to draw the full annual MP allowance of S$192,500.
It prompted the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to file a motion requesting that Iswaran be suspended as an MP.
The PSP motion was rejected in parliament last September, with MPs voting instead to consider the matter when investigations against Iswaran conclude.
He resigned as minister, MP and as a member of the People's Action Party on Tuesday.
INCORRUPTIBILITY "ABSOLUTELY NON-NEGOTIABLE"
At the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) conference in November, Mr Lee spoke about the need to keep Singapore’s system clean. He also pledged that PAP's commitment to honesty and incorruptibility was "absolutely non-negotiable".
Without referencing Iswaran, he told party members:Â "If you wear white, you must be white. Whether in your party responsibilities or private dealings, never bring yourself or the party into disrepute. Do not abuse your position. Do not accept any favours, still less ask for them. It is shameful, it is wrong."
Mr Lee, who is the party’s secretary-general, added that the PAP must prove itself especially when it is tested, by putting principles into action "regardless of any embarrassment or political cost" and dealing with the issues "without fear or favour" while getting to the bottom of the matter.