Singapore Political Scandals Over The Years
Minister for Transport S Iswaran is currently on a leave of absence as he is the subject of an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
There is much public interest in the case, considering the last time a minister was investigated for corruption before 2023, he took his own life.
Days after Mr Iswaran made headlines, Ong Beng Seng, a property tycoon with many connections, was also issued a notice of arrest in relation to the case.
In politically stable Singapore, scandals like these don’t come often. But whenever they do, people are going to talk about it for the coming days, if not weeks.
Here’s a look at other political scandals that have had the same effect on Singaporeans since the country’s formation.
1. The PAP minister who took his life 37 years ago when CPIB was investigating him
Teh Cheang Wan was an architect and served as the Minister for National Development from 1 Feb 1979.
Source: NAS
However, on 14 Dec 1986, Mr Teh was discovered dead in his home.
He had committed suicide, leaving a note addressed to then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The suicide note, which was read out in Parliament by Mr Lee, read:
Prime Minister,
I have been feeling very sad and depressed for the last two weeks.
I feel responsible for the occurrence of this unfortunate incident and I feel I should accept full responsibility. As an honourable oriental gentleman, I feel it is only right that I should pay the highest penalty for my mistake.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) Teh Cheang Wan
Mr Lee had approved an open investigation into a case of alleged corruption involving Mr Teh in November 1986, a month before the latter’s suicide.
He had allegedly accepted bribes to the tune of S$1 million from two private companies for assisting them in buying a piece of state land for private development.
Due to his death, the Attorney-General could not charge him.
His cause of death was announced as an overdose of barbiturate, known as Amytal.
2. Nassim Jade controversy involving Lee Kuan Yew, Lee Hsien Loong & Ong Beng Seng
In 1996, Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), owned by tycoon Ong Beng Seng, launched Nassim Jade, a four-storey condominium.
Mr Ong apparently offered “pre-launch” purchases to the family of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, which included him and his son, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at substantial discounts.
But the two men did not know the property developer had given SM Lee a 7% discount for a unit in the Nassim Jade condominium while DPM Lee received a 12% discount.
These were before the units were placed on the open market.
The matter led to public uproar when discovered, with many slamming the apparent privilege shown to the ruling elite.
SM Lee said in Parliament that he would donate the discounts he was given for the properties, amounting to S$416,261, to charity.
He also maintained that he did not know of anything improper in the deals.
He and Lee Hsien Loong were eventually cleared of wrongdoing by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Similarly to the 1996 Nassim Jade affair, Mr Ong has attracted controversy in his alleged dealings with Transport Minister S Iswaran.
They’re both currently subjects of investigation by CPIB.
3. WP MP Yaw Shin Leong resigns following extramarital affair
Over the years, there have been some MPs who were allegedly caught having extramarital affairs.
In all three cases, they resigned after their alleged indiscretions were made public.
In our first example, Yaw Shin Leong was a Workers’ Party (WP) MP and had enjoyed a steady rise in popularity among residents in Hougang.
He was deemed the successor of Low Thia Khiang’s Hougang SMC after the latter left to contest Aljunied GRC at the 2011 General Elections.
Source: The Online Citizen on YouTube
Mr Yaw duly won Hougang SMC after Mr Low’s endorsement with 64.8% of the vote, and became an MP.
But the following year, WP expelled him from the party after allegations of “indiscretions in personal life” emerged.
Mr Yaw never publicly addressed these rumours and allegedly never attended internal party hearings.
He also did not contest the expulsion and vacated his Parliament seat, leaving it vacant. Mr Yaw then moved overseas to China, Vietnam and Myanmar.
However, this would not be the last time he made the news, as he came out in 2021 to deny statements WP secretary-general Pritam Singh made regarding the 2012 affair.
4. Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer caught having indiscretion
Michael Palmer was the Speaker of Parliament from 2011 and an MP at Punggol East SMC.
However, evidence of Mr Palmer having an extramarital affair emerged in December 2012. Mr Palmer is married with one child.
He’d been in an affair with a staff member of the People’s Association (PA) at Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. However, the two did not work directly together.
According to reports, the two were allegedly in an affair for over a year.
After the evidence emerged, Mr Palmer resigned as Speaker and MP, and left the PAP on 12 Dec 2012.
In a written statement, he said he had resigned “to avoid further embarrassment to the PAP and to Parliament”.
Subsequently, the Punggol East seat was contested in a by-election in 2013, which the WP’s Lee Li Lian won.
5. David Ong resigns as Bukit Batok MP after affair discovered
David Ong was the MP for Bukit Batok SMC until 12 Mar 2016, when he abruptly resigned from the PAP.
He cited “personal indiscretion on my [his] part which I deeply regret” as the reason.
Ong, then 54, had an extramarital affair with 41-year-old Wendy Lim, a member and grassroots volunteer with the PAP.
The affair allegedly lasted nearly six months before it went public. A complaint was lodged with the party.
A by-election was held for the single-seat ward after Mr Ong’s resignation.
6. Raeesah Khan caught lying in Parliament
Former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan debuted at the 2020 General Election, contesting Sengkang GRC.
During a Parliament session on 3 August 2021, Ms Khan alleged that a police officer had made inappropriate remarks towards a woman.
The victim was making a police report over sexual assault, and Ms Khan claimed that she had accompanied the victim.
However, in November that year, she admitted in Parliament that she had lied about accompanying the victim and had not gotten permission to share the incident.
MP Raeesah Khan Apologises For Telling Untruth About Accompanying Friend To Police Station
She was subsequently referred to the Committee of Privileges for breaching her parliamentary privilege.
Ms Khan resigned from the party on 30 November 2021, although investigations continued. She was eventually fined S$35,000.
Sengkang GRC was not contested in a by-election and remains a three-person ward to this day.
7. Ridout Road bungalows
Allegations emerged in May that two ministers, K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan, had unfairly benefited from renting two black and white bungalows at Ridout Road, managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
After the ministers asked Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to conduct investigations, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigated the matter.
Alongside the CPIB report, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean also made his own report.
It found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the ministers, and that the authorities had not given preferential treatment in renting the Ridout Road bungalows.
Shanmugam & Vivian Followed Proper Processes In Ridout Road Rentals: Teo Chee Hean
8. 38 Oxley Road saga
38 Oxley Road was where former PM Lee Kuan Yew and his family resided from the 1940s until his death in 2015.
Due to its historical value, the house became a contentious topic after Mr Lee passed away.
His three children appeared to disagree over what their father wanted to do with the house.
Lee Wei Ling Claims Lee Kuan Yew Doubted If Oxley Road Home Was Made A Heritage House
This disagreement lasted until after his death due to Mr Lee’s seventh and final will. It said Lee Kuan Yew’s estate would be divided equally among the three siblings.
Lee Hsien Loong inherited 38 Oxley Road, with a clause for Lee Wei Ling to stay in it for as long as she desired.
While Mr Lee apparently wished to have the house demolished following his passing, the government appeared interested in conserving the house.
However, Lee Hsien Loong was suspicious about the last will and how it was drafted. As such, he said he consulted Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on what to do.
The matter eventually led to the siblings no longer talking to each other.
In 2017, both Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling made a public statement denouncing their elder brother.
They alleged that Lee Hsien Loong had abused his office as prime minister to prevent the demolition and that he wished to move into 38 Oxley Road to inherit the political capital of his father.
Eventually, the matter was debated in Parliament, where Lee Hsien Loong explained his side of the story.
However, that was not the end of it, as Lee Hsien Yang and his family are currently overseas in Europe. Both Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, are wanted for investigations concerning the last will.
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Featured image adapted from the National Archives of Singapore, The Straits Times on YouTube, and AFP via SCMP.
