Singapore’s former Transport Minister S Iswaran pleaded guilty on Tuesday to accepting thousands of dollars worth of gifts while in office after strenuously denying the charges against him for months, Singapore media reported.
The case, in which Iswaran is accused of accepting gifts including tickets to English Premier League football matches and the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, has rocked the wealthy city-state, which prides itself on a highly paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong governance.
Iswaran, who joined the Cabinet in 2006, became the first Singaporean minister to stand trial on corruption charges.
The 62-year-old minister was arrested in July last year and accused of receiving kickbacks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and another businessman Lum Kok Seng. Iswaran was an adviser to the Grand Prix steering committee while Ong owned the rights to host the race.
Ong has not been charged with any offences, while Iswaran had previously denied the allegations when he resigned from the cabinet.
The prosecutor’s office said Iswaran pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and accepting anything of value by a public servant without payment or with insufficient payment from a person with whom he is associated in an official capacity, instead of charges including corruption.
Reduction of the number of charges
In a surprise move, prosecutors reduced the number of charges against Iswaran to five from 35. The remaining 30 charges will be taken into account at sentencing, the publication adds.
The charge of accepting gifts carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine. For obstruction of justice, Iswaran could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison and a fine.
However, the prosecution has asked for a much lighter sentence of six to seven months in jail, while the defence is asking for eight weeks, CNA reported, adding that Iswaran will be sentenced on October 3.
