Minister for National Development Desmond Lee responded to the news of former Minister for Transport S Iswaran's resignation, in a Facebook post on Jan. 18.

Iswaran resigned from his Cabinet role, as a Member of Parliament (MP) for West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and as a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), following a corruption probe by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Lee currently oversees the Boon Lay ward of West Coast GRC.

"We are saddened that Mr Iswaran has resigned as MP for West Coast GRC under these circumstances, and thank him for his years of service and contributions to the community," Lee wrote.

He clarified that he and the other MPs in West Coast, Rachel Ong, Foo Mee Har, Patrick Tay, and Ang Wei Neng, will focus on serving the residents there.

"Since July 2023, [we] have stepped up to cover Mr Iswaran's duties as MP on the ground," he wrote.

Lee said he will remain as the Grassroots Advisor to the grassroots organisations in West Coast.

"We would like to assure our residents of West Coast that we will continue to serve them, and ensure that their needs are looked after," he concluded in his post.

Iswaran previously instructed by PM Lee to take leave of absence

Iswaran, who was previously the MP for the West Coast ward in the GRC, was instructed by PM Lee to take a leave of absence in July 2023, until CPIB investigations were conducted.

Lee had said in previous media interviews that Iswaran's corruption probe has had a "big impact" on the West Coast GRC and is a "very worrying development".

Nevertheless, he emphasised that the other West Coast GRC MPs would continue to engage residents and address issues such as cost of living and inequality.

Denied the charges and allegations against him

Iswaran was charged in court with corruption today (Jan. 18).

He is accused of accepting over S$160,000 from hotelier Ong Beng Seng so that latter could advance his own business interests in a Singapore Grand Prix contract with the Singapore Tourism Board.

Iswaran also faces 24 charges of accepting valuable items from Ong while he was a public servant, The valuable items, which were worth over S$218,000 and included Singapore Grand Prix tickets, were allegedly accepted by Iswaran between November 2015 and December 2021.

Iswaran also faces one charge of obstructing justice in May 2023.

He arrived at the State Courts on Thursday morning at 8:10am accompanied by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh.

He pleaded not guilty to his charges.

In a Jan. 18 statement released on Facebook, Iswaran denied the charges and allegations against him.

"I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name," he wrote.

The prosecution asked for the case to be adjourned and to extend Iswaran's current bail.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled to take place on Mar. 1, 2024.

Top image from Mothership & Desmond Lee/Facebook