Former Minister Bags 12 Months jail term

For obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts in the city-state’s first political graft trial for nearly half a century, a former Singaporean Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge for Trade Relations, S. Iswaran, has been reportedly sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday.

According to reports, he was hit with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world’s least corrupt.

In his judgment, High Court Justice Vincent Hoong, said “Trust and confidence in public institutions are the bedrock of effective governance, which can all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant has fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability,” Hoong said Thursday when he delivered the sentence.

Iswaran was convicted last week of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts after prosecutors moved forward with five lesser charges only, including some related to a billionaire property tycoon.

His defence team asked for Iswaran’s jail term to commence on October 7, local media reported.

Iswaran quit in January after being formally notified of the charges, which include accepting gifts worth more than $300,000.

In a resignation letter at the time, he said he would clear his name in court.

However, Iswaran has paid back around $295,000 in financial gain to the government and gifts including a Brompton bicycle were also seized from him, the attorney general’s office said.

The charges include obstruction of justice relating to an attempt to block Singaporean authorities from investigating a business class flight at the expense of Malaysian hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore’s richest residents.

The other four charges relate to his receipt of gifts from Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, and a top director at a construction company Lum Kok Seng, including bottles of whiskey and golf clubs.(AFP)