Singapore's disgraced former transport minister jailed for 12 months in landmark case
Corruption allegations rare in Singapore government
Iswaran pleaded guilty to receiving gifts, obstructing justice
Ex-minister to start jail time on Monday
Recasts after sentencing
By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) -A Singapore court on Thursday sentenced a former minister to 12 months in prison for obstructing justice and receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts, in the first jailing of an ex-cabinet member in a city-state known for clean governance.
S. Iswaran, who was a cabinet member for 13 years and has held the trade, communications and transport portfolios, had pleaded guilty to four counts of improperly receiving gifts and one of obstructing justice.
The court said Iswaran, 62, would be allowed to remain on bail for the next few days and begin his jail term on Monday.
The case has shocked Singapore, which prides itself on having a well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong and squeaky clean governance. It was among the world's top five least corrupt countries last year, according to Transparency International's corruption perception index.
The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986, when its national development minister was investigated for alleged bribery but died before any charges were filed in court.
The investigation caused a stir in the Asian financial hub and centred on allegations Iswaran while transport minister accepted lavish gifts from businessmen that included tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet.
The value of those totalled more than $400,000 Singapore dollars, the prosecution said. Iswaran resigned as transport minister after less than three years in the job when he was first charged in January.
Iswaran had initially said he was innocent and would fight to clear his name but pleaded guilty to the five charges put before the court, two of which were initially corruption-related but were amended to charges of receiving gifts.
The prosecution had initially charged him with 35 offences but proceeded with only five.
($1 = 1.2877 Singapore dollars)
Editing by Martin Petty
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
