Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong addressed former transport minister S Iswaran's ongoing court case on Jan. 18, saying the government handled the matter decisively and proactively.

Addressing the media, DPM Wong said that Iswaran's case will have "no impact" on the People's Action Party (PAP)'s leadership transition, CNA reported.

Wong also added that the plan for the transition to take place before the next General Election and PAP conference this year "remains on track".

Stating that the incident will "no doubt" impact the party and its morale, Wong said it cannot allow this to compromise its zero-tolerance stance against corruption, CNA wrote.

Wong also said the PAP's stance on corruption is non-negotiable, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

"There can be no compromise, no relaxation, no fudging of this — no matter the political price," Wong said. "This is part of our DNA."

"The PAP government will continue to do everything we can to uphold the highest standards of integrity, incorruptibility and propriety. That's how we maintain the trust that Singaporeans have placed in us."

Following Iswaran's resignation, Wong said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and the other West Coast GRC elected Members of Parliament (MPs) would continue caring for West Coast residents.

According to CNA, Wong said there was no tip-off or whistleblower in Iswaran's case, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) pursued the matter on its own. He said:

"It was CPIB that uncovered the matter, reported it up, the Prime Minister agreed for the investigation to proceed and CPIB has done a thorough investigation."

"They have left no stone unturned. They have dug deep and wide, and they have presented their full investigations to AGC," Wong said.

Addressing the impact on the civil service, Wong said that he was sure many civil servants would be "disappointed, shocked, saddened" by the incident.

"I hope the civil servants will also see that what has transpired is the determination of the PAP government to keep our system free from corruption," he added.

Charged with corruption on Jan. 18

Following a months-long investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, the former transport minister was charged with corruption today (Jan. 18).

Iswaran 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.

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.

How the CPIB investigation came about

Less than two weeks ago, on Jan. 9, 2024, Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said the CPIB investigation on Iswaran was completed and handed over to the Attorney-General's Chambers for review.

Iswaran's case came to light when CPIB found information in the course of another investigation.

This started a quiet investigation in May 2023, and PM Lee was alerted to it on May 29, 2023.

On Jul. 5, 2023, CPIB told PM Lee they had attained enough information to launch a formal investigation into Iswaran. PM Lee gave the director of CPIB his concurrence to launch a formal investigation.

Iswaran was subsequently arrested by CPIB on Jul. 11, 2023, and released on bail.

He was arrested on the same day as billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng.

PM Lee instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until CPIB's investigations are completed.

Iswaran also announced his resignation from PM Lee's Cabinet and the People's Action Party on Jan. 18.

Related stories

Top image from Ecosperity/Facebook and Andrew Koay/Mothership