3-10-2024 (SINGAPORE) Former transport minister S Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment by the High Court on Thursday. The verdict marks a pivotal moment in the city-state’s history, as Iswaran becomes the first person to be prosecuted for accepting gifts as a public servant since Singapore’s independence in 1965.
The 62-year-old veteran politician, who had been a stalwart in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet since 2006, faced four counts of accepting gifts from individuals involved with him in his official capacity and one charge of obstructing justice. This case has drawn intense scrutiny in Singapore, a nation renowned for its low corruption levels and highly paid ministers.
Iswaran’s guilty plea on September 24 came as a surprise to many, given his initial proclamations of innocence when legal proceedings commenced in January. The prosecution had amended the original corruption charges to the lesser offence of obtaining gifts as a public servant without consideration, a strategic move that negated the need to prove that Iswaran had received the gifts in exchange for advancing the giver’s business interests.
The court heard that Iswaran had accepted gifts from businessman Ong Beng Seng, with whom he had collaborated on the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, and Lum Kok Seng, a director of a construction company involved in railway station works during Iswaran’s tenure as transport minister. These revelations have raised questions about the interactions between high-ranking officials and business entities in Singapore.
