SINGAPORE, Sept 24 — Singapore’s former transport minister S. Iswaran today pled guilty to four counts of obtaining valuable items and one count of obstructing the course of justice on the first day of a rare corruption trial in the republic that was expected to continue into 2025.

The 62-year-old rejected the charges and maintained his innocence when he was initially charged on January 18.

“I plead guilty,” Iswaran was quoted as saying in the High Court after Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong announced that the prosecution will be tabling a fresh set of charges.

The charges were four counts of obtaining valuable items as a public servant under Section 165 of the Penal Code and one count of obstructing the course of justice under Section 204A(a) of the Penal Code.

He is still on trial for 30 other charges.

The Straits Times reported judge Vincent Hoong to have convicted Iswaran after the latter made the guilty plea.

MORE TO COME