Former Singapore Transport Minister Iswaran confesses to corruption charges in court trial

Former Singaporean Transport Minister, S Iswaran, has pleaded guilty to five charges of corruption after months of denial, reducing the original 35 charges against him. The 62-year-old accepted gifts worth thousands of dollars from two businessmen, including property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and grassroots organizer Lum Kok Seng. These gifts included tickets to West End shows, flights, bottles of whisky, soccer tickets, and a bicycle. Iswaran, who brought the Formula One night race to Singapore, resigned in January and paid back $295,000 to the state as a result of the charges. Prosecutors have asked for a jail term of six to seven months, describing Iswaran as more than a passive acceptor of the gifts. This is the first corruption trial involving a senior politician in Singapore in almost four decades, with the last involving former Minister for National Development Teh Cheang Wan in 1986. Singaporean government officials have a starting salary of $36,250 a month to prevent corruption, with the country ranked as the fifth least corrupt in 2023 by Transparency International. Iswaran’s trial, led by Davinder Singh, was initially scheduled to start earlier in the month but was delayed until September 24, with hearings expected to continue until September 27, including 56 witnesses listed by the prosecution.

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