Ong Beng Seng arrives at State Courts on Oct. 4, to be charged in relation to Iswaran's case

Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng arrived at the State Courts building on Oct. 4 at 2:19 pm.

He was accompanied by his lawyer.

He did not say anything to the media when he entered the building.

Ong is set to be charged in relation to former transport minister S Iswaran's case.

According to court records seen by Mothership, the two charges listed are abetment under Section 165, for a public servant obtaining valuables, and Section 204A, for obstructing justice.

The charges relate to former transport minister S Iswaran's crimes of obtaining flights to and from Singapore to Doha, and a Doha hotel stay, as well as another charge of obstruction of justice as a result of repaying Ong for the Doha-Singapore flight.

On Oct. 3, a day earlier, Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months' jail.

Background

Ong was previously arrested on the same day as Iswaran on Jul. 11, 2023.

Ong's name was first associated with Iswaran following a months-long investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

This investigation led to the former transport minister being charged with corruption on Jan. 18, 2024, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Iswaran's original charges included accepting over S$160,000 and valuable items worth over S$218,000 from Ong Beng Seng while he was a public servant.

He faced a total of 35 charges, two of which were corruption charges.

Ong was listed as a witness for Iswaran's case before Iswaran decided to plead guilty.

However, on Sep. 24, the two corruption charges were amended to charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value without payment or with inadequate payment from any person with whom he is involved in an official capacity.

The prosecution proceeded on five charges: four under Section 165 of the Penal Code and one charge of obstruction of justice.

Iswaran pleaded guilty to all five charges.

- Six months’ jail for obtaining 10 F1 Green Room tickets

- Three months and three weeks’ jail for expenses related to the Doha trip

- Four months’ jail for obstructing justice by paying S$5,700 to Singapore GP to cover the cost of his business-class flight ticket

- Two months’ jail for obtaining 14 bottles of whiskey and wine

- Three months’ jail for obtaining a Brompton T Line bicycle

The sentences for accepting the Green Room tickets, the drinks and obstructing justice will run consecutively, amounting to 12 months.

The other sentences will run concurrently.

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) had said that they would decide on action against the hotelier after Iswaran's case has concluded.

Top photos by Daniel Seow