Former Singapore transport minister S Iswaran in the spotlight as unprecedented criminal trial opens on Tuesday

SINGAPORE: The highly anticipated trial of former transport minister S Iswaran is set to open on Tuesday morning (Sep 24), eight months after he was charged with corruption linked to Formula 1 bigwig Ong Beng Seng.

The criminal trial is one-of-a-kind in recent history. The last time a minister faced a corruption probe was almost 30 years ago.

Then-minister for national development Teh Cheang Wan died by suicide before he could be charged with corruption in 1986. Before him, then-minister of state for environment Wee Toon Boon was sentenced to jail for corruption in 1975.

Iswaran's case also involves Section 165 of the Penal Code, a rare charge forbidding all public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity.

How the court interprets this section may impact how public servants ought to conduct their affairs and transact with other people, the High Court previously stated.

Underscoring the high-profile nature of this trial are the prosecutors assigned to the case.

Iswaran hired heavyweight Senior Counsel Davinder Singh from the get-go. On the prosecution’s side, Chief Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng initially led the charge with a team of seasoned prosecutors under him in the early charging stages.

Later, Deputy Attorney-General and Senior Counsel Tai Wei Shyong joined the team at its helm when the case went to the High Court for various applications.

THE CHARGES

The total amount involved across Iswaran's 35 charges is about S$403,300, for things like tickets to football matches, musicals and F1 events, flight tickets and hotel stays, bottles of whisky and golf clubs.

Of this, the two corruption charges, which allegedly involve only Mr Ong, amount to about S$166,280.

The 32 charges under Section 165, which include valuables allegedly obtained from both Mr Ong and Mr Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings, involve S$237,000.

The bulk of this is for allegedly obtaining S$218,000 of valuables in his capacity as a minister who also dealt with Mr Ong and his company. Iswaran was the chairman of Singapore's F1 Steering Committee.

The remaining S$19,000 comprises valuables Iswaran allegedly obtained from Mr Lum between November 2021 and November 2022.

The last charge is for obstructing justice, by repaying the cost of a business flight ticket in May 2023 that was originally bought at Mr Ong's expense.

Iswaran obtained permission to have a joint trial for all 35 charges, but it is yet to be seen which groups of charges will be proceeded with first at trial, or whether the prosecution will tackle each charge in turn.

The trial will begin after months of court applications and delays.

Iswaran had declared from the outset that he was innocent, putting in a not-guilty plea from the day he was first charged in January - an unusual move as accused persons do not usually record their pleas so early.

His lawyers have led various court manoeuvres since January.

These include his successful application to leave the country for Australia to help his son settle into university, his delayed return due to an illness and multiple bids to have the prosecution turn over all its witness statements.

WHAT ISWARAN HAS SAID ABOUT THE CASE

In a statement to the media after his January charging, Iswaran said: "I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name."

Iswaran, whose political career spanned almost 30 years, resigned from his positions in government two days before his first court appearance in January. 

He had previously been placed on a leave of absence pending investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

He said he had submitted his resignation letter to then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong "even without being asked to do so".

"I resigned as Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament and as a member of the People's Action Party because I believe it was the right thing to do."

"Further, I informed the prime minister on (Wednesday) that, even though I am innocent, I will be returning all monies that I received by way of salary as Minister and allowances as Member of Parliament from the commencement of CPIB's investigations in July 2023."

He had been drawing a reduced monthly salary of S$8,500 and a full MP annual allowance of S$192,500.

In a glimpse at his possible defence, heavyweight lawyer Mr Singh said in a court hearing in May that Iswaran did not know or suspect that gifts from Mr Ong and Mr Lum were "veiled gratification".

"He was dealing with very, very dear and close friends," said Mr Singh. "His state of mind at that time was that not only was he dealing with close friends, he had no idea at all that there was any ... he had no knowledge or suspicion that the gifts were offered as veiled gratification."

LOOKING AHEAD

The first tranche of the trial spans Sep 24 to Sep 27. Thereafter, there will be dates in November 2024, as well as in January, February and March next year.

The defence had said that the trial could take a long time, especially if the prosecution was going to tender evidence from its witnesses orally, by calling them individually to the stand.

The prosecution previously said they had 56 witnesses lined up. The known witnesses include: Mr Ong, Mr Lum, deputy chairman of Singapore GP Syn Wai Hung Colin, Iswaran's wife Taylor Kay Mary, Mr Ong's wife Christina Fu, Iswaran's then-personal assistant Chan Wan Hiang Ivy, and a Mr Mok Chee Liang.

The trial was set to take place on Sep 10, but was pushed back to Sep 24. Over the weekend, Mr Ong was seen on the sidelines of the Singapore Grand Prix. 

Neither Mr Ong nor Mr Lum has been charged. The Attorney-General's Chambers previously said they would make a decision on the investigations against them and others after the case against Iswaran has been completed, "including the presentation of evidence in court".

If convicted of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant, Iswaran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

If convicted of corruptly obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.

If convicted of obstructing justice, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.