SINGAPORE, Jan 18 — Transport Minister S Iswaran was on Thursday morning (Jan 18) handed 27 charges at the State Courts mostly related to bribery and corruption.
Iswaran, 61, was charged with 24 offences under Section 165 of the Penal Code, two under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and one for obstruction of justice.
Section 165 of the Penal Code makes it an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value — without payment or with inadequate payment — from a person who he is involved with in an official capacity.
It is not necessary to establish that the item of value was received as an inducement or a reward, for it to be deemed as an offence.
Iswaran, who is represented by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, pleaded not guilty to the charges and intends to contest them.
A pre-trial conference has been set for March 1.
Iswaran was arrested last July and subsequently released on bail.
It was later revealed that he was assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with investigations into a case it had uncovered, though the bureau did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong separately said that he had given CPIB the green light for the investigation, and that he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the probe was completed.
Also assisting in the investigations was managing director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) Ong Beng Seng, a Malaysian billionaire who gained a high profile for bringing the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Singapore.
Mr Lee later told Parliament in August that Iswaran had been interdicted from duty with a reduced pay of S$8,500 a month until further notice.
The Prime Minister said then that since incidents involving ministers being probed for corruption are rare here, there was no rule or precedent on how to effect an interdiction on a political office holder. And as such, Mr Lee used the current civil service practice as a reference point.
The last time that a minister was instructed to take leave of absence amid a graft probe was almost 40 years ago.
In 1986, then National Development Minister Teh Cheang Wan was investigated by the CPIB for allegedly accepting two bribes totalling S$1 million in return for helping two property developers retain and acquire pieces of land for development.
Teh had been placed under leave of absence during the course of the investigations, but he died by suicide before he could be formally charged in court.
Before that in 1975, then-Minister of State for the Environment Wee Toon Boon was charged and subsequently convicted and jailed over four counts of corruption involving a sum over S$800,000.
Iswaran was first elected as an MP in 1997 and was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006.
He held ministerial positions in the Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Education.
His latest portfolio was as Minister of Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Any public servant convicted under Section 165 of the Penal Code can be sentenced to jail up to two years, be handed a fine, or both.
If found guilty of accepting or obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Iswaran can be fined up to S$100,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.
If convicted with obstructing the course of justice he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both. — TODAY
