Singapore’s disgraced former transport minister awaits sentencing

S Iswaran will be the first former Singapore cabinet member to be sent to jail if he receives a prison sentence today. (Photo by Catherine LAI / AFP)

SINGAPORE: A Singapore court was due on Thursday to sentence former transport minister S Iswaran, convicted last week of receiving more than S$400,000 worth of gifts, in what could be the first jailing of a former cabinet member in a city-state known for clean governance.

Iswaran, who was a minister for 13 years, pleaded guilty to four counts of receiving gifts and one of obstructing justice, after prosecutors went ahead with only five of the 35 charges in a rare case that has gripped Singapore.

A charge of accepting gifts from someone a public official has dealings with carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine, while obstructing justice is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine.

The investigation into Iswaran, 62, centered on allegations he accepted lavish gifts from businessmen that included tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet.

The value of those totaled more than S$400,000, the prosecution said.

The case has shocked Singapore, which prides itself on having a well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong and squeaky clean governance. It was among the world’s top five least corrupt countries last year, according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index.

The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986, when his national development minister was investigated for alleged bribery but died before any charges were filed in court.

Iswaran resigned as transport minister after less than three years in the job when he was first charged in January.

He was a junior minister in 2006 under then premier Lee Hsien Loong and became minister in the prime minister’s office in 2011, before going on to hold the trade, communications and transport portfolios.

Iswaran had initially said he was innocent and would fight to clear his name but pleaded guilty to the five charges brought before the court, two of which were initially corruption-related but were amended to charges of receiving gifts.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers said it made the amendments because of litigation risks involved in proving the corruption charges beyond a doubt, adding the 30 other charges would be taken into reasonable consideration in sentencing.

Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia has reported the prosecution has sought a sentence of six to seven months in jail for Iswaran and the defense is asking for eight weeks’ imprisonment.