Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts one-year jail sentence

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran (background) and his lawyer Navin Thevar arrive at the High Court in Singapore

A former Singaporean Cabinet minister began a one-year prison term yesterday for receiving illegal gifts after saying he would not appeal his sentence in the rare criminal case involving a government minister in the Asian financial hub.

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran said it was important to him that prosecutors reduced two corruption charges to charges of receiving illegal gifts at the start of the trial last month. Iswaran had pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice and four of accepting gifts from two businessmen with whom he had official business.

His sentence of 12 months in prison exceeded what the defense and prosecution had requested, but the court agreed to let him start serving the sentence yesterday.

“I will not be appealing the sentence handed down by the Court,” Iswaran said in a statement on social media. “I accept that as a minister, what I did was wrong under section 165 (of the Penal Code). I accept full responsibility for my actions and apologise unreservedly to all Singaporeans.”

With his prison term, he said he hoped he and his family can put “the pain and anguish behind us, move forward and rebuild our lives together.”

Singapor e’s ministers are among the world’s best paid, and the case has embarrassed the ruling People’s Action Party, which prides itself on clean governance. The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessperson. Another Cabinet minister was investigated for graft in 1986, but died before charges were filed.

A day after Iswaran’s sentence last week, a Malaysian hotelier who brought Formula One to Singapore was charged Friday for allegedly obstructing justice and abetting Iswaran’s wrongdoings. Ong Beng Seng did not indicate how he would plead to the charges, and his case has been adjourned until next month.

The second businessman will not be charged.

Ong, a Malaysian businessman based in Singapore, is the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, which owns 38 hotels and resorts in 17 countries. He is known for bringing Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008, and holds the rights to the Grand Prix night race in the city-state. MDT/AP