Ex-Minister Sentenced To 12 Months In Prison Over Gifted Graft
A former Singaporean minister was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday for obstructing justice and accepting illegal gifts in the city-state’s first political graft trial in almost 50 years.
S. Iswaran, the former transport minister who helped bring Formula One to the financial hub, was charged this year with 35 counts of graft in a country that is frequently cited as one of the world’s least corrupt.
Iswaran’s sentence exceeded the prosecution’s request for six to seven months, which High Court Justice Vincent Hoong stated would have been “manifestly inadequate” given the case’s impact on public trust.
“Trust and confidence in public institutions are the bedrock of effective governance, which can all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant has fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability,” Hoong said Thursday when he delivered the sentence.
Singapore court has sentenced former transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran to 12 months in prison on grounds of corruption and obstruction of justice pic.twitter.com/YFadartYvo
— TRT World (@trtworld) October 3, 2024
The charges include obstruction of justice for attempting to prevent Singaporean authorities from investigating a business class flight at the expense of Malaysian hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore’s wealthiest citizens.
The other four charges stem from his acceptance of gifts from Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, and a top director at Lum Kok Seng Construction, which included bottles of whiskey and golf clubs.
AT A GLANCE: A breakdown of Iswaran's 12-month sentence https://t.co/oNrpWS75rC pic.twitter.com/uuc11GPea7
— CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) October 3, 2024
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Neither businessman has been punished. According to local media, the Attorney General’s office said it would “take a decision soon” on Ong. However, it made no mention of Lum.
Most of the charges against Iswaran have been levelled with a rarely used criminal law under which it is an offence for public servants to accept objects of value from figures they officially work with.
Iswaran’s trial has been deemed by observers to be one of the most politically significant in the city-state’s history.
It also risks damaging the reputation of the ruling People’s Action Party before general elections expected to be held by November next year.
Ex-Minister Sentenced To 12 Months In Prison Over Gifted Graft
