On Wednesday (2 Aug), Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong gave answers in Parliament regarding the case of Transport Minister S Iswaran and the CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau).
Mr Iswaran is currently out on bail after CPIB arrested him pending a corruption investigation.
Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing assisted PM Lee in relaying answers to Members of Parliament (MPs).
Source: The Straits Times on YouTube
These MPs had submitted their parliamentary questions beforehand.
Here are some key questions that Mr Chan answered on behalf of PM Lee in today’s parliament session.
Mr Chan answered Mr Don Wee’s question by stating that there was a “crucial difference” between the two cases.
He noted that the two ministers had asked for independent investigations.
PM Lee then instructed CPIB to look into the Ridout Road case.
Meanwhile, CPIB had come across the issue involving Mr Iswaran on their own.
Throughout the course of the investigation, Mr Chan said PM Lee had no reason to believe that Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Shanmugam did anything wrong.
“He could have asked them to take a Leave of Absence if he had evidence to believe that they did something wrong,” said Mr Chan.
In the end, CPIB cleared both ministers in the Ridout investigation of any wrongdoing.
On behalf of PM Lee, Mr Chan stated in reply to Dr Tan Wu Meng that the CPIB wanted to establish the facts of the case before announcing Mr Iswaran’s arrest.
Source: The Straits Times on YouTube
“I must emphasise that what information to put out on ongoing investigations are operational judgement calls that law enforcement agencies take,” he said.
Mr Chan also said that law enforcement agencies usually do not reveal the identities of arrested individuals “for good reason”.
In the case of Mr Iswaran’s corruption probe, the CPIB only confirmed his arrest when they “had enough evidence”.
PM Lee also addressed the issue in a separate comment in Parliament.
He said that what the CPIB reveals and when they announce it is based on its own “operational decisions”.
Additionally, PM Lee stated that most of the time, CPIB investigations are not announced at all.
In short, the answer is no, Mr Chan said, responding to Mr Louis Chua.
Mr Chan stated that the CPIB is “functionally independent” and does not require the PM’s permission to conduct its duties.
In the recent corruption probe involving Mr Iswaran, the CPIB had informed PM Lee as the investigation involved a standing cabinet minister.
He then said that according to the Singapore Constitution, the director of the CPIB can go to the President should the PM deny concurrence.
However, Mr Chan noted that no PM in Singapore’s history has “impeded CPIB’s work”.
In short, no PM has ever denied CPIB permission to conduct investigations.
And if such a situation occurs, the CPIB has the power to proceed with the investigation anyway.
Mr Dennis Tan asked whether cutting Mr Iswaran’s pay to S$8,500 monthly is in lieu of both his MP and ministerial allowance.
PM Lee answered that Mr Iswaran’s MP allowance is not affected. It is also not at the discretion of the PM.
“What has happened is that an MP is on a leave of absence, and eventually when the case is settled in one way or another, consequences follow.”
Mr Chan later answered that an MP’s allowance will be withheld once they are suspended from Parliament.
Suspending the member requires a parliamentary motion to interdict the MP.
PM Lee said that this has not been done.
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Featured image adapted from The Straits Times on YouTube.
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