30-10-2024 (SINGAPORE) Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, currently embroiled in a high-profile corruption case, has secured court approval for international travel under stricter bail conditions, including an additional S$800,000 cash bail, doubling his total bail amount to S$1.6 million.
The 78-year-old Malaysian businessman, who appeared before the court on Wednesday dressed in white, received permission for a multi-city journey encompassing London, Boston, Gibraltar, and Spain. His lawyer, Aaron Lee from Allen & Gledhill, outlined the trip’s purposes as medical treatment and business matters, with a scheduled return to Singapore on November 9.
The prosecution consented to the travel application while imposing additional safeguards. These include maintaining constant contact availability, providing detailed travel itineraries to investigating officers, and surrendering his passport within 24 hours of return. The court also stipulated that Ong must travel separately from his bailor.
Ong faces serious charges under Singapore’s Penal Code, including allegations of abetting former transport minister S Iswaran in obtaining valuable considerations and obstruction of justice. The charges stem from incidents in December 2022, involving arrangements for travel to Doha that included private jet transportation valued at US$7,700, luxury hotel accommodation worth S$4,737.63, and a business class return flight costing S$5,700.
The Singapore GP head is specifically accused of orchestrating a scheme to conceal the true nature of Iswaran’s travel expenses by instructing an associate to bill the former minister for flight costs, allegedly knowing this action would likely obstruct justice.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for November 15. If convicted, Ong faces potential imprisonment of up to seven years and fines for the obstruction of justice charge, while the charge related to obtaining valuable considerations carries a maximum two-year jail term and possible financial penalties.
