SINGAPORE’S Transport Minister S. Iswaran was today handed 27 charges at the State Courts mostly related to bribery and corruption.

Iswaran, 61, was charged with 24 offences under section 165 of the Penal Code, two under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and one for obstruction of justice.

Section 165 makes it an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value — without payment or with inadequate payment — from a person who he is involved with in an official capacity.

It is not necessary to establish that the item of value was received as an inducement or a reward, for it to be deemed as an offence.

Iswaran, who is represented by senior counsel Davinder Singh, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A pre-trial conference has been set for March 1.

Iswaran was arrested last July and subsequently released on bail.

It was later revealed that he was assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with investigations into a case it had uncovered, though the bureau did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong separately said that he had given CPIB the green light for the investigation, and that he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the probe was completed.

Assisting in the investigations was Hotel Properties Limited managing director Ong Beng Seng, a Malaysian billionaire who gained a high profile for bringing the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Singapore.

Lee later told parliament in August that Iswaran had been interdicted from duty with a reduced pay of S$8,500 (RM30,000) a month until further notice.

The prime minister said since incidents involving ministers being probed for corruption are rare here, there was no rule or precedent on how to effect an interdiction on a political office holder.  As such, Lee used the current civil service practice as a reference point. – Today, January 18, 2024.