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Singapore convicts minister to one year in jail for corruption

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: October 3, 2024

Singapore's former transport minister S. Iswaran is in court for the start of the country's first political graft trial in more than four decades © Roslan RAHMAN / AFP

A senior cabinet minister in the rich southeast Asian island of Singapore was sentenced to one year in prison on Thursday for corruption and abuse of power – a rare high-profile case in one of the world’s least corrupt countries.

Subramaniam Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to accepting gifts worth 311,882 US dollars while in public office, as well as obstructing the course of justice.

The gifts which 62-year-old Iswaran accepted included tickets to the Formula 1 Grand Prix, a Brompton T-line bicycle, alcohol and a ride on a private jet, the BBC reported.

Justice Vincent Hoong, who oversaw the case in Singapore’s High Court, emphasized that the former transport minister’s crimes were an abuse of power and jeopardised people’s trust in public institutions.

“Trust and confidence in public institutions were the bedrock of effective governance, which could all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant had fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability,” he said.

The judge allowed him to remain on bail for the next few days and begin his jail term on Monday, October 7.

Iswaran was arrested in July last year and was accused of taking kickbacks from businessmen including property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who owns the rights to the race.

He had initially said he was innocent and would fight to clear his name but pleaded guilty last week to the five charges put before the court.

The former minister faced a total of 35 charges, two of which were corruption-related but were later amended to charges of receiving gifts while a public servant.

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