Singapore
Reuters
–
Property tycoon On Ben Sen pleaded guilty to denial of obstruction of justice on Monday in part of a landmark case that led to the imprisonment of former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who obtained valuable items as a civil servant last year.
However, both the prosecutor and the defense agreed to grant ONG’s judicial mercy in light of his chronic illness, and insisted that he would be fined in lieu of imprisonment. He will be declared on August 15th.
A second charge of crime was also considered.
Judicial mercy gives the court the authority to grant more lenient mitigation penalties in exceptional mitigation situations, such as terminal illness, or when prisons are at high risk of risking their lives.
Defense submitted that ONG suffers from multiple myeloma. This is an incurable cancer that affects his plasma cells and allows him to withstand immune system.
The incident has been the subject of a major conspiracy in Singapore. Singapore offers its Ministers a salary of over S$1 million ($775,000) to block grafts and takes pride in its reputation for clean governance.
Ong had informed Iswaran that his companions were being questioned and that a private flight depicting Iswaran’s name for a flight from Singapore to Doha had been seized by a corrupt watchdog during the investigation.
This led Iswaran to request that he issue an invoice through Singapore GP, the Singapore F1 Grand Prix promoter, and to charge him for the trip.
Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months in October 2024. This was the first time he was imprisoned in Singapore on charges of obstructing justice and receiving gifts of over $300,000.
In February, Iswaran was placed under house arrest for the remaining sentence.
Ong gave him tickets for Iswaran to ride a private jet amid the British Premier League soccer match, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, the London Musical and other bounties.
Iswalan was an advisor to the Singapore Grand Prix steering committee, but the 79-year-old ONG owns the rights to the race.
The billionaire resigned in April as managing director of Singapore-listed hotel properties.
