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Iswaran convicted of five charges including obtaining gifts after guilty plea
The former transport minister pleaded guilty to lesser charges of obtaining gifts under Section 165 of the Penal Code, after initially facing two counts of corruption.
The renovated bathroom in Mr Jake Cheng's home.
Iswaran, 62, also pleaded guilty to one charge of obstruction of justice.
SINGAPORE: Former transport minister S Iswaran was convicted on five counts on Tuesday (Sep 24) after pleading guilty to lesser charges of obtaining gifts as a public servant.
At the opening of what was to be the first day of trial, the prosecution began by replacing his two counts of corruption with charges under Section 165, which makes it an offence for public servants to accept or obtain valuable things from someone involved with them in an official capacity.
Iswaran, 62, also pleaded guilty to one charge of obstruction of justice.
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SINGAPORE: Former Singapore transport minister S Iswaran pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sep 24) on what was expected to be the first day of his criminal trial, after saying for months he would be contesting the case to clear his name.
The 62-year-old admitted to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids all public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity, and one charge of obstruction of justice.
Another 30 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
The valuables involved in all the charges include tickets to theatre shows, football matches and the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, whisky, international flights and a hotel stay. The amount involved is more than S$400,000 (over US$300,000).
The hearing started promptly at 10am, with the prosecution tendering a fresh set of charges.
Around 2017, deputy chairman of Singapore GP Colin Syn Wai Hung asked Iswaran how many tickets he required for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix that year.
This followed an earlier "standing instruction" from Mr Ong to allocate complimentary tickets to Iswaran, Mr Tai said.
Iswaran said that he needed 10 Green Room tickets, which cost more than S$4,200 each. Mr Syn got approval for the tickets from Singapore GP's contractual allocation of complimentary tickets, controlled by Mr Ong.
The tickets were delivered to Iswaran in September 2017, and he distributed them to family, friends and other people he knew. He did not pay for them nor declare them to the government.
Mr Tai said that Iswaran knew Mr Ong was involved in the facilitation agreement between Singapore GP and STB, and that this was connected to his function as minister and chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.
Context Snippet
swaran took up the offer and applied for urgent personal leave to take the trip.
He left for Qatar on Dec 10, 2022,
travelling on Ong's private jet, and checked into Four Seasons hotel in Doha.
The next day, he flew back to Singapore on a business class flight paid for by Singapore GP on Mr Ong's instructions.
Iswaran did not pay for his flight to Doha or the hotel stay,
and did not declare them to the government.
He paid Singapore GP for the return flight to
Singapore around May 25, 2023, and this was related to his charge of obstruction of justice.
Around May 17, 2023, the Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was investigating a separate matter relating to
Mr Ong's associates when it came across the flight manifest of
Mr Ong's private jet for the Dec 10, 2022 flight to Doha, which Iswaran was on.
The next day, Mr Ong was informed by his associates that CPIB had seized the flight manifest and that CPIB had questioned them about the trip.
In the following days, Mr Ong informed Iswaran of this over the phone. They spoke again and Iswaran asked Mr Ong to bill him for the trip to Doha. Mr Ong asked a director in Singapore GP to do so.
On May 24, 2023, the director emailed Iswaran's personal assistant the invoice for the flight to Doha. The next day, Iswaran issued a cheque for S$5,700 to Singapore GP.
Iswaran did not pay for his flight to Doha or the hotel stay, and did not declare them to the government.
