Singapore ex-minister gets 12 months' jail in rare graft trial

A Singaporean former minister was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison for obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts in the city-state's first political graft trial for nearly half a century.

Ex-transport minister S Iswaran, known for helping bring Formula 1 to the financial hub, was hit this year with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world's least corrupt.

Iswaran's sentence was more severe than the six to seven months requested by the prosecution, which High Court Justice Vincent Hoong said would have been "manifestly inadequate" given the impact of the case on public trust.

"Trust and confidence in public institutions are the bedrock of effective governance, which can all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant has fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability," Hoong said when he delivered the sentence.

Iswaran was convicted last week of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts after prosecutors moved forward with five lesser charges only, including some related to a billionaire property tycoon.

His defense team asked for Iswaran's jail term to commence on Monday. The court then asked the 62-year-old to surrender himself at 4pm at the State Courts that day.

Iswaran quit in January after being formally notified of the charges, which include accepting gifts worth more than US$300,000 (HK$2.3 million).

He was also charged with obstruction of justice relating to an attempt to block authorities from investigating a business-class flight at the expense of Malaysian hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore's richest residents.

The other four charges relate to his receipt of gifts from Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, and a top director at a construction company Lum Kok Seng, including bottles of whiskey and golf clubs.

Iswaran has paid back around US$295,000 in financial gain to the government and gifts, including a Brompton bicycle, were also seized from him.

Singapore's last senior politician convicted for graft dates to 1975, when Wee Toon Boon, then minister of state for environment, was found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than US$600,000 according to local media.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE