UPDATE on Jan. 18, 2024 at 2:30pm: This article has been updated with new information about S Iswaran's case.
Following a months-long investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), the former transport minister was charged with corruption on Jan. 18, 2024, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Iswaran's charges include accepting over S$160,000 and valuable items worth over S$218,000 from Ong Beng Seng while he was a public servant.
The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will make a decision on action against the hotelier after Iswaran's case has concluded.
Another figure of interest has emerged in the midst of the CPIB investigation involving Transport Minister S Iswaran.
Managing Director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), Ong Beng Seng, has been asked by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to provide information regarding his interactions with the minister.
In case you're in the dark as to who exactly Ong is, here's a brief rundown of his backstory.
The elusive man with a Midas touch
Ong is a Malaysian who came to Singapore with his family when he was four.
He now lives as a permanent resident here.
Ong attended Anglo-Chinese School, where he was a champion sprinter and long jumper, and later went on to obtain a degree in insurance after studying in Britain.
In 1972, Ong married Christina Fu.
Fu's father, Peter Fu Yun Siak, was the owner of an oil trading company, Kuo International.
In 1975, Ong joined his father-in-law's company where he raked in millions by accurately forecasting the fluctuations of oil prices.
Despite his insane success within the company, Ong remained a frustratingly "elusive" figure in the public eye, according to a 1992 article by The Business Times.
Image via The Business Times.
The article dubbed the then-46-year-old the "least photographed" local businessman who had only granted two interviews in his 16 years with Kuo International.
"Until two years ago [1990] the press was still using a 20-year-old photo of him... Whether it was vanity, or a sense of public service, Mr Ong finally replaced the out-dated image with a more current black-and-white, passport-sized photograph."
Image via The Business Times.
Founded Hotel Properties Limited
The capital Ong earned during his stint at Kuo supposedly helped finance his subsequent dabbling in the property industry.
In 1980, Ong formed HPL, which bought the Hilton hotel for S$72 million.
HPL's incorporation in 1980 and its listing in 1982 signalled Ong's foray into the hospitality, retail, and lifestyle sectors, said The Business Times.
The company rapidly took over properties and hotels, targeting prime locations along Orchard Road and even forming a joint venture with Four Seasons in 1984, reported a Straits Times article dated Jul. 7, 1989.
Calling Ong "the 'sheikh' of the Far East", the article painted an amusing picture of the tycoon, although its wording didn't quite age well.
Image via The Straits Times.
Thus began the formidable expansion of the HPL empire.
By the time 2022 rolled around, Ong and Fu were ranked the 24th richest people in Singapore, estimated by Forbes to have a combined net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion).
Fashion-related dealings
Beyond his iconic "plastic-rim glasses, dark suit and ultra-wide psychedelic tie" look, Ong actually had remarkable influence in the fashion world of the 1990s.
HPL invested a heck load of money in Donna Karan Japan and opened DKNY stores across Asia.
Not to mention his wife's Club 21 chain, which became the distributor for Armani jeans in the U.S. and U.K. and held the rights for DKNY products.
The power couple also bailed out Mulberry in 2000, gaining a controlling percentage of its stake before eventually taking over of the company in 2003.
Brought F1 to Singapore
Ong is also behind the Formula One (F1) night races in Singapore.
Leveraging on his friendship with the F1 boss Bernie Eccleston, Ong helped close the deal to bring the F1 race to Singapore after a year of negotiations in 2007.
In October 2022, Singapore once again hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix after Singapore GP, backed by Ong and the Singapore Tourism Board.
They secured the franchise to host the race for another seven years through 2028.
Scandals
For all of his triumphs, Ong was also entangled in some controversies over the years.
In 1996, people speculated that HPL offered discounts to the then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and then-Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when they bought apartments at Nassim Jade and Scotts 28.
Subsequently, Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong clarified in Parliament that they did not ask for discounts for the apartments.
Later in 2018, Ong was implicated in leaked files that claimed he was involved in a scheme by then-Maldives president Abdulla Yameen to lease out Maldives islands and lagoons to tourism developers without public tender.
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Top images via Mark Thompson/Getty and Business Times