Iswaran arriving at Supreme Court for his trial on Sept 24. - ST
SINGAPORE: Former transport minister S. Iswaran pleaded guilty on Sept 24, on what was supposed to be the first day of his scheduled trial.
Iswaran, 62, is now convicted of five charges and the prosecution is seeking a jail term of six to seven months.
Four of these charges are for obtaining valuable items from Formula One (F1) race promoter Singapore GP’s chairman Ong Beng Seng and David Lum, managing director of mainboard-listed construction company Lum Chang Holdings.
Iswaran also admitted to one charge of obstructing the course of justice.
The obstruction charge relates to over S$5,000 he repaid to Singapore GP for the cost of his business-class flight from Doha to Singapore that he took on Dec 11, 2022, at Ong’s expense through the company.
He has paid back $380,000 to the state and will forfeit the items he received.
When the court hearing began at 10am, Iswaran’s lawyer Senior Counsel Davinder Singh said: “My client will be taking a certain course of action, in view of the fact that the prosecution is no longer proceeding with charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”
At about 10.05am, the court was stood down for the amended charges to be read to Iswaran before a plea was taken.
When court reconvened at around 10.40am, Iswaran was asked to stand.
He told the court: “Your honour, I plead guilty.”
Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong then read out the statement of facts.
He said that on Dec 6, 2022, Ong asked Iswaran if he would like to join him on a trip to Qatar.
Ong told Iswaran he would be travelling on his private jet, and the former minister would be going as his guest.
Ong added he would take care of all of Iswaran’s expenses, including hotel accommodation.
Iswaran accepted the invitation, and applied for urgent personal leave.
Iswaran told Ong he needed to be back in Singapore by Dec 11, 2022, and Ong arranged for him to return to Singapore on a commercial flight.
Iswaran travelled to Doha on a private jet, and the value of a flight was worth around $10,000, said the prosecutor.
Upon reaching Doha, Iswaran checked into the Four Seasons Hotel, and the value of one night at the hotel was over $4,000.
His hotel accommodation was paid for by Singapore GP on Ong’s instructions.
The court heard that in one of his Section 165 charges, Iswaran informed Singapore GP deputy chairman Colin Syn that he required 10 green room tickets for the Singapore F1 in 2017.
The prosecutor said the green room is a hospitality suite which offers premium experience to enjoy the race. Each green room ticket is worth over $4,000.
Iswaran then gave these tickets to his friends and family to attend the F1 without paying for the tickets. He also did not declare to the Government he had obtained these 10 tickets.
In his submissions, DAG Tai said Iswaran’s acts had a significant impact on the Government’s reputation as he was a minister for 12 years.
“The fact that he was a minister of such seniority and standing would have amplified the effect of the accused’s behaviour,” said the prosecutor.
Iswaran had originally rejected the charges and allegations made against him and had maintained he was not guilty.
In a statement after he was first charged on Jan 18, Iswaran had said: “I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name.”
On Sept 24, Iswaran arrived at the High Court at around 9.25am.
Members of the public had queued up as early as 5am outside court to watch the trial unfold.
This story is developing. - The Straits Times/ANN
