Singaporean ex-minister starts 1-year jail sentence

KUALA LUMPUR — A Singaporean former minister began a one-year prison term on Monday for receiving illegal gifts after saying he would not appeal his sentence in the rare criminal case involving a Cabinet official in the Asian financial hub.

Former Transport minister S. Iswaran said it was important to him that prosecutors reduced two corruption charges to charges of receiving illegal gifts at the start of the trial last month. He had pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice and four of accepting gifts from two businessmen with whom he had official business.

His sentence of 12 months in prison exceeded what the defense and prosecution had requested, but the court agreed to let him start serving the sentence on Monday.

PAYING THE PRICE Singapore's former Transport minister S. Iswaran gestures toward members of the media as he leaves the city-state’s Supreme Court after being sentenced to 12 months in prison on Oct. 3, 2024. EPA PHOTO

«I will not be appealing the sentence handed down by the Court,» Iswaran said in a statement on social media. «I accept that, as a minister, what I did was wrong under Section 165 (of the Penal Code). I accept full responsibility for my actions and apologize unreservedly to all Singaporeans.»

With his prison term, he voiced hope that he and his family could put «the pain and anguish behind us, move forward and rebuild our lives together.»

Singapore's ministers are among the world's best paid, and the case has embarrassed the ruling People's Action Party, which prides itself on clean governance. The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessman. Another Cabinet member was investigated for graft in 1986, but died before charges were filed.

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After Iswaran was sentenced last week, a Malaysian hotelier who brought Formula One to Singapore was charged on Friday for allegedly obstructing justice and abetting Iswaran's wrongdoings. The hotelier, Ong Beng Seng, did not indicate how he would plead to the charges, and his case has been adjourned until next month.

The second businessman will not be charged.

Ong, a