Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran charged with multiple offences including corruption

SINGAPORE: Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran was on Thursday charged in court with multiple offences, including corruption and receiving gratification as a public servant, months after a probe into him was made public, Channel News Asia (CAN) reported.

This comes as the first time a sitting Singapore minister has been charged with corruption.

Iswaran pleaded not guilty to 27 charges in all--two of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one of obstructing justice and 24 of receiving gratification as a public servant under the Penal Code.

He was arrested on July 11 last year as part of an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

The arrest was made public on July 14, although no details were provided on the nature of the investigation.

According to CAN, what was known was that property tycoon Ong Beng Seng had been arrested as well and asked to provide information in relation to his interactions with Iswaran.

Ong also owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and is the chairman of race promoter Singapore Grand Prix.

Also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Iswaran had been actively involved in the government's engagements with F1, including making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event's future have been made, according to CAN.

Iswaran arrived at the State Courts around 8 am on Thursday, surrounded by his lawyers including Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and Mr Navin Thevar from Davinder Singh Chambers. He did not respond to questions from reporters during his walk to the court entrance.

The 61-year-old has been Minister for Transport since May 2021. His political career spans more than 26 years since he was first elected in 1997 as a Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC.

Before he was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006, he served on several government parliamentary committees and was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong placed Iswaran on a leave of absence due to the CPIB investigation.

Lee later revealed in parliament that Iswaran had his pay cut to Singapore dollar 8,500 (USD 6,390) a month until further notice. But he was allowed to draw the full annual MP allowance of Singapore dollar 192,500.

It prompted the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) to file a motion requesting that Iswaran be suspended as an MP.

The PSP motion was rejected in parliament last September, with MPs voting instead to consider the matter when investigations against Iswaran conclude.

On January 9, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a written parliamentary response that CPIB had completed its probe into Iswaran.