Singapore braces for biggest corruption trial in decades | Corruption News

Singapore – Singapore, a country consistently ranked among the least corrupt in the world, is preparing for something very special: a high-profile corruption trial.

S Iswaran, a former transport minister best known for his role in organising the Formula 1 (F1) night race in Singapore, has become the first political office-holder in nearly four decades to be investigated for corruption.

The 62-year-old is due to appear in court on Tuesday, September 24, on 35 charges of obtaining valuables as a public servant, corruption and obstructing justice. Civil servants and political office holders are prohibited from accepting gifts worth more than 50 Singapore dollars ($38) in the performance of their duties.

The father of three is accused of accepting more than 400,000 Singapore dollars ($306,000) in gifts from two businessmen: Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng, who also played a key role in securing the F1 race, and Lum Kok Seng, a man with strong ties to grassroots organizations in Iswaran’s former constituency. The gifts included tickets to West End musicals, flights, bottles of whiskey, tickets to English Premier League matches and even a Brompton bicycle.

Neither Ong nor Lum have been accused of any wrongdoing.

“I deny the charges and am innocent,” Iswaran wrote in a letter to then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on January 17, the day before he was charged. He later added through his lawyers that he had not known that the gifts from two men he considered close friends could be considered “disguised gratification.” He resigned and left the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in January, shortly before he was formally charged.

“The government has dealt with this matter rigorously and in accordance with the law and will continue to do so,” Lee said in a statement at the time. “I am determined to uphold the integrity of the party and the government, and our reputation for honesty and integrity. Singaporeans expect nothing less.”

Most of the charges against Iswaran fall under a rarely used provision of the Criminal Code that has been part of the city-state’s penal code since 1871, the Straits Times newspaper reported. The provision makes it an offence for a public official to accept or obtain anything of value, free of charge or for inadequate payment, from a person with whom he or she is dealing in an official capacity.

Iswaran’s legal team is led by former PAP lawmaker Davinder Singh, a senior lawyer who has often represented Lee, as well as his late father Lee Kuan Yew. Iswaran’s wife is among the prosecution’s 56 witnesses. The first part of the trial is scheduled to run until September 27.

In a country that has had only one ruling party, polls have consistently shown high levels of confidence in government. But the Iswaran saga came months after former parliament speaker Tan Chuan Jin – a man once tipped as a possible future prime minister – stepped down in July 2023 after admitting to an extramarital affair with a fellow lawmaker. The lawmaker also resigned.

The trial also comes nearly five months into new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s term, with general elections scheduled for November 2025. “The Iswaran trial should be a major factor in Wong’s mind as he decides when to go to the polls,” Associate Professor Michael Barr of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, told Al Jazeera.

“They would prefer the process to take place either far in the future or long in the past, so that it can remain out of sight and out of mind.”

While independent political observer Felix Tan sees the case as a “minor misstep” in Singapore’s good governance record, he warns that there is also a risk for the ruling party.

“The biggest challenge for the PAP government is to maintain public trust,” Tan said. “There are concerns about the nature and extent of sensitive information that Mr Iswaran could release during the trial.”

What do Singaporeans think?

According to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) – as does Transparency International – corruption is “receiving, asking for or giving any form of gratification to induce another to grant a favour with a corrupt intent”.

This is the first corruption investigation involving a minister since 1986, when former National Development Minister Teh Cheang Wan was accused of accepting 1 million Singapore dollars ($775,000) in bribes. Teh committed suicide before the investigation could be completed.

In July, public unrest erupted when it emerged that Iswaran had already been arrested and released as part of the ongoing CPIB investigation – something the agency had failed to mention when it first announced that the former minister was helping with the probe.

But Tan notes that the matter has been “simmering” for months. “Singaporeans have already moved on to ‘other news’. They are more concerned about their immediate interests, such as the economy, businesses and the cost of living.”

Public sentiment toward the PAP remains largely positive. A survey conducted by market research firm Blackbox last month after Wong delivered a major political speech showed that the PAP enjoyed a positive rating from more than half of respondents. Blackbox added that the PAP is in a “reasonable position.”

Analysts told Al Jazeera that Iswaran’s trial was unlikely to have an impact on Wong as it could be seen as a “residual” of Lee’s leadership. The Blackbox poll also found that more than half of respondents rated the new prime minister’s performance so far as “good”, while 17 percent rated it as “excellent”.

“I don’t see this case having much impact on Lawrence Wong’s premiership,” Tan said. “That said, there could still be some trickle-down effects, such as whether this case is a reflection of the new breed of 4G leaders (Singapore’s terminology for its new generation of political leaders) and the failure of government institutions.”