SINGAPORE: A Singapore court today charged a property billionaire with obstructing justice and abetting offences by a disgraced ex-transport minister jailed a day earlier in the city-states high-profile government graft case.
Ong Beng Seng, the 78-year-old owner of Hotel Properties Ltd and rights holder to the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race, is accused of giving high-value gifts to ex-minister S Iswaran, who yesterday became the first former Cabinet member to be jailed in Singapore.
The case has been the subject of major intrigue in Singapore, a wealthy financial hub that offers ministers salaries of more than S$1 million (US$771,247) to deter graft and prides itself on its reputation for clean governance.
Iswaran was imprisoned for 12 months for obstructing justice and improperly receiving gifts as a public servant, with Ong a central part of the prosecutions case.
Ong has so far issued no comment on the accusations. Channel NewsAsia said he entered no plea today and did not indicate how he would plead.
Ongs firm, Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd, requested a trading halt early today following Thursdays announcement he would be charged.
Prosecutors during Iswarans trial said the ex-minister received gifts worth more than US$300,000, including tickets to English Premier League matches, the F1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet to Doha.
Ong was charged with one count of abetting Iswarans receiving of valuables and one count of obstruction of justice, according to the charge sheet.
The court during Iswarans trial heard how the minister had asked Ong to bill him for the Doha trip on the private jet after he discovered the anti-graft agency had seized the flight manifest for an unrelated case.
Justice Vincent Hoong, who presided over Iswarans case on Thursday said the ministers request to be billed was a deliberate move to obstruct the course of justice and try to evade investigation.
Channel NewsAsia said Ongs court hearing was adjourned until pre-trial proceedings on Nov 15.