SINGAPORE: Malaysian businessman Ong Beng Seng was sentenced on Friday (Aug 15) to a S$30,000 fine for abetting former Transport Minister S Iswaran in the obstruction of justice.
He had helped to arrange for Mr Iswaran to be billed belatedly for a sum of S$5,700 for a business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore.
Ong had invited Mr Iswaran on that trip, at Ong’s expense, and Mr Iswaran asked to be billed for it months later, after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) discovered Mr Iswaran’s name on the flight manifest while investigating a separate case.
Here’s how events unfolded.
Jul 12, 2023: CPIB announces investigation involving Mr Iswaran
CPIB announced that Mr Iswaran was assisting with an investigation into a case uncovered by the agency. It did not elaborate on the nature of the probe as investigations were ongoing.
Then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said separately that the CPIB investigation would require Mr Iswaran and other individuals to be interviewed by CPIB. The bureau sits under the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Lee instructed Mr Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigation was completed, with others covering his portfolios.
According to then-Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the case was “completely driven by CPIB from the beginning” and that there had been no public complaint.
Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng was later seen entering and leaving CPIB headquarters.
Jul 14, 2023: HPL announces Ong Beng Seng’s arrest
Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), which Ong co-founded, announced that he had been given a “notice of arrest”.
The company said in the filing on the Singapore Exchange that Ong was also asked by CPIB to provide information in relation to his interactions with Mr Iswaran.
Ong is widely credited with playing a key role in a deal struck in 2007 between the Singapore Tourism Board and then-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to bring the first night race to Singapore.
Mr Iswaran was actively involved in the government’s engagements with F1, making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event were made.
