The Singaporean Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) announced Monday that former Minister for Transport S. Iswaran was charged with eight additional counts of obtaining, as a public servant, valuable things with a total value of S$18,956.94 (around US $14,094) for no consideration during his incumbency.
The additional charges concern Iswaran receiving items from Lum Kok Seng, managing director of a construction firm involved in various Singaporean government projects. The alleged offenses occurred between November 2021 and November 2022, when Iswaran was the incumbent Minister for Transport, and involved the construction of a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station in Singapore.
The charges fall under Section 165 of the Singaporean Penal Code, which prohibits public servants from taking bribes and provides that anyone in violation can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years or both.
On January 18, 2024, Iswaran was charged with 27 offenses for violation of Sections 165 and 204A(a) of the Penal Code as well as Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The earlier charges were related to his receiving items from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng for advancing Ong’s business interests during the period between November 2015 and December 2021 and obstructing the course of justice. He pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges. On Monday, the court allowed the eight additional charges to be transferred to the General Division of the High Court together with the earlier charges.
Iswaran became the Minister of Transport in May 2021 while remaining the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations after a Cabinet reshuffle. The corruption scandal first became known to the public in July 2023, after which he resigned from both positions, although the allegations. Chee Hong Tat was appointed as the new Minister for Transport in January 2024.
In its prosecutions against Iswaran, the CPIB repeatedly stressed that “Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption.” It was rated as the fifth least corrupt country in the world out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2023. Celebrating the result, the CPIB has stated its mission in working with the community “to ensure that incorruptibility remains a key part of the Singaporean DNA.”
