Former transport minister S Iswaran pleaded guilty on Tuesday (24 Sept), the first day of his criminal trial.
This came after the prosecution amended two charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
These two charges reportedly involve property tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
The first charge that was amended originally said that Iswaran corruptedly obtained the following in Sept 2022 from Mr Ong, through Singapore GP Pte Ltd:
It also said that Iswaran did this as an inducement to advance Mr Ong’s business interests, relating to the facilitation agreement between Singapore GP Pte Ltd and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Meanwhile, the second amended charge originally said that Iswaran corruptly obtained the following from Mr Ong in Dec 2022:
Both charges were amended to state that Iswaran obtained the valuables as a public servant.
The corruption charges were replaced with lesser charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code.
Section 165 of the penal code forbids civil servants from accepting or obtaining anything of value from anyone they’re involved with in an official capacity.
With the amended charges, the prosecution will proceed with five charges against the 62-year-old:
30 other charges will be taken into consideration.
Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong told the court that Iswaran made a disgorgement of S$380,305.95 (US$294,845) to the state on Monday (23 Sept).
Bottles of whisky and wine, golf clubs, and a Brompton bicycle were also seized.
Earlier in January, Iswaran pleaded not guilty to 27 charges.
The prosecution has sought seven months’ jail for the former minister.
In mitigation, Mr Davinder Singh, Iswaran’s lawyer, pointed out that the gifts he received were “given in context of his friendship” with Mr Ong and Mr Lum Kok Seng — a director of a local construction firm.
Iswaran was also unaware of the law under Section 165 at the time, but understands that ignorance of the law is no excuse, he says.
He further argued that Iswaran’s breaches of Section 165 resulted in no harm or minimal harm.
Mr Singh has asked for a jail sentence not exceeding eight weeks’ jail if the court thinks a jail term is warranted.
Also read: Transport Minister S Iswaran Charged For Multiple Offences Including Corruption, Pleads Not Guilty
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and S Iswaran on Facebook.
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