SINGAPORE’S Transport Minister S. Iswaran and Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) managing director Ong Beng Seng were arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Tuesday, CPIB said today.

Both men were released on bail, the bureau said in a reply to queries from Today.

As part of their bail conditions, both Iswaran’s and Ong’s passports were impounded, it said.

The arrests came a day before CPIB announced on Wednesday that Iswaran was assisting the bureau with investigations into a case it has uncovered.

On the same day, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that he had asked Iswaran to go on leave of absence and that Chee Hong Tat would be acting transport minister.

Ong’s arrest was disclosed by HPL in a Singapore Exchange filing today.

In its filing, HPL also said Ong, 77, was travelling abroad today and that his passport would be surrendered to the authorities upon his return to Singapore on a date it did not specify.

In its statement today, CPIB said “subjects on bail can however make requests to travel overseas” and that these requests would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The bureau said it had “assessed and acceded” to Ong’s request to travel overseas.

“Ong’s bail quantum was also increased to S$100,000 (RM347,000),” it said.

“Upon his return, Ong is required to report to CPIB and surrender his passport to the bureau.”

It did not state the original bail amount.

CPIB said it is unable to provide further details as investigations are ongoing. – todayonline, July 14, 2023.