New date set for Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty

SINGAPORE: A new date has been set for property tycoon Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty, court records showed on Monday (Jul 28).

He is expected to plead guilty on Aug 4, with the date provided after a pre-trial conference on Monday.

The Malaysian faces two charges that correspond to those admitted last year by former transport minister S Iswaran. 

Ong remains out on bail of S$800,000 (US$630,000). 

The latest update comes after Ong’s case underwent a few sessions of pre-trial conferences.

Ong, the 79-year-old former managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, had been set to plead guilty on Jul 3. The hearing was changed to a pre-trial conference after both sides asked for more time to file sentencing submissions. 

One of Ong’s charges is for abetting Mr Iswaran in obstructing the course of justice by helping the latter pay S$5,700 to Singapore GP for a business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore.

This was a delayed payment allegedly made months after the flight itself and only after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau discovered Mr Iswaran’s name on the flight manifest when investigating a separate case. Ong is known for bringing Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008. 

The other charge is for instigating Mr Iswaran to obtain flights and a hotel stay from Ong. This was when Mr Iswaran knew Ong had business dealings linked with his official functions.

Mr Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ jail in October 2024.

Hotel Properties Limited previously stated in a Singapore Exchange announcement that Ong would plead guilty to the charge of obstructing justice, and admit to the other charge, which will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

Ong stepped down as managing director from Hotel Properties Limited on Apr 29 for medical reasons. CNA earlier reported that he has bone marrow cancer.

If convicted of the charge under Section 165 of the Penal Code for abetting Mr Iswaran to obtain valuables, Ong could face a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.

If convicted of obstructing justice, the charge under Section 204A, Ong could face a jail term of up to seven years, a fine, or both.