By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s former Transport Minister S. Iswaran has pleaded guilty to receiving gifts while in office, as proceedings began on Tuesday in the first graft trial involving a minister in this Asian financial hub.
The case, which charges Iswaran with receiving favours that included tickets to English Premier League soccer matches and to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, has gripped the wealthy city-state, which prides itself on having a well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong governance.
Iswaran, who joined the cabinet in 2006, is the first Singaporean minister to be tried in court on graft charges.
The 62-year-old was arrested in July last year and was accused of taking 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’s steering committee, while Ong owns the rights to the race.
Ong has not been charged with any offence and Iswaran had previously rejected the allegations when he resigned from the cabinet.
The attorney-general’s chambers said in response to media queries that it will decide on Ong “soon”.
The attorney general’s chambers said Iswaran pleaded guilty to the charges of obstructing justice and of a public servant accepting anything of value without payment, or with inadequate payment, from a person with whom he is involved in an official capacity.
Prosecutors proceeded with five of the 35 charges facing Iswaran, who pleaded guilty despite saying in January he wanted to focus on clearing his name.
Two of the 35 charges, which were initially graft charges linked to gifts from Ong, were amended to accepting gifts from a person with whom he is involved in an official capacity.
The attorney-general’s chambers said they made the amendments because of litigation risks involved in proving the corruption charges beyond a reasonable doubt, “given that there are two primary parties to the transactions, and both would have an interest in denying corruption in the transactions”.
The charge of accepting gifts carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine. For obstructing justice, Iswaran can be sentenced to jail of up to seven years and a fine.
However, the prosecution asked for a much lighter sentence of six to seven months in jail, while the defence is asking for eight weeks, according to CNA, adding that Iswaran will be sentenced on Oct 3.
The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986, when the national development minister was investigated for allegedly accepting bribes. He died before he could be charged in court.
Singapore was among the world’s top 5 least corrupt countries last year, according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index.
($1 = 1.2908 Singapore dollars)
