Iswaran

SINGAPORE — Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng (picture) pleaded guilty to abetment of obstruction of justice at the State Court on Monday, in a case linked to Singapore’s former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, according to local media reports.

The Malaysian businessman who played a key role in bringing the Formula One (F1) race to Singapore, admitted to the charge related to a December 2022 trip to Qatar, which Iswaran had accepted Ong’s invitation for, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

A second charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

His guilty plea came after multiple pre-trial conferences and court adjournments since he was first charged on Oct 4, 2024.

The prosecution said Iswaran did not pay for his flight to Doha or his return flight to Singapore, nor for hotel accommodation.

Iswaran had travelled to Doha on Ong’s private jet, while his hotel stay and return business-class flight were paid for by Singapore GP Pte Ltd (SGP) under Ong’s instructions.

In October 2024, Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment by the High Court after pleading guilty to four charges of obtaining valuable items as a public servant and one count of obstruction of justice.

The obstruction of justice charge relates to the S$5,700 Iswaran repaid to SGP for the cost of his business-class flight from Doha to Singapore in 2022.

The prosecution stated Ong also knew that Iswaran’s act of making the repayment was likely to obstruct the course of justice, ST reported.

Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng has set sentencing for Aug 15. Ong’s bail of S$800,000 has been extended.

In mitigation, Ong’s defence team stated that he suffers from multiple myeloma, a type of cancer, rendering him immunocompromised and at risk of endangering his life in prison if he contracts an infection.

The prosecution accepts that the exercise of judicial mercy is warranted in Ong’s case and does not object to the maximum fine for him instead of imprisonment, according to ST. — BERNAMA

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