SINGAPORE: As the prosecution set out its case against former transport minister S Iswaran on Tuesday (Sep 24), details emerged on his dealings with businessmen and his attempt to avoid being investigated by Singapore's anti-corruption agency.
Iswaran, 62, pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining valuables as a public servant and one charge of obstructing justice. It was a surprise decision after the prosecution amended two counts of corruption to lesser charges under Section 165 - a rarely used provision in the Penal Code.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) started looking into Iswaran while investigating a separate matter, then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said last year.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the CPIB had been investigating associates of property tycoon Ong Beng Seng in May 2023, when it came across a flight manifest of Mr Ong's private jet.
This was for a trip from Singapore to Doha, Qatar in December 2022. Iswaran had been on this flight.
FLIGHT TO DOHAOn Dec 6, 2022, Iswaran accepted an invitation from Mr Ong to join him on a trip to Qatar. Mr Ong said he would take care of all the expenses for the trip.
Iswaran took urgent personal leave and flew to Qatar on Dec 10, 2022, on Mr Ong's private jet.
He checked into a room at Four Seasons Doha and flew back the next day on a business-class flight. The hotel room and return flight were paid for by Singapore GP, where Mr Ong is the majority shareholder.
The trip expenses amounted to more than S$20,000 (US$15,500). Iswaran did not pay Mr Ong nor Singapore GP back for any of the expenses until after CPIB found the private jet's flight manifest, and did not declare the gifts to the government.
Iswaran knew that Mr Ong was involved in a 2022 contract between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board, and this was connected to his official functions as minister and chairman of the F1 Steering Committee, said prosecutors.
This amounted to an offence under Section 165 of the Penal Code.
What is Section 165 of the Penal Code?Under Section 165, it is an offence for a public servant to accept or obtain anything of value, without payment or with inadequate payment, from any person with whom he is involved in an official capacity.
Legal experts whom CNA spoke to previously noted two key differences between the charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Penal Code that Iswaran initially faced.
Whether someone who receives a benefit has done anything in exchange for the benefit Whether a corrupt element is involvedMr Adrian Wee, managing partner of Lighthouse Law, said that a public servant can receive such a benefit without being induced or rewarded to do anything or give any favours in return.
This means there may not necessarily be any corruption involved in Section 165 offences.
Mr Chooi Jing Yen, partner at Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, said that it appears offences under Section 165 are “easier to prove”.
He said this is because the prosecution does not need to prove that a benefit was in exchange for the receiver agreeing to do something.
Collapse ExpandOn May 18, 2023, Mr Ong's associates informed him that CPIB had seized the flight manifest and questioned them about the Doha trip. Between then and May 23, 2023, Mr Ong informed Iswaran of this development on the phone.
The day after their phone callmw cash, the two men spoke again, and Iswaran asked Mr Ong to have Singapore GP bill him for the Doha trip. Mr Ong arranged for an invoice to be sent to Iswaran's personal assistant the next day.
Sketch of Iswaran at the High Court on Sep 24, 2024. (Image: CNA/Nathan Magindren)