Singapore former transport minister S Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on Thursday (Oct 3). He pleaded guilty to five charges last week – four charges of obtaining valuable items as a public servant and one charge of obstruction of justice. He was the close associate of AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who helped the AP government in developing Amaravati between 2014 and 2019.
Another 30 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing. The prosecution earlier sought six to seven months’ jail, while the defence had argued for no more than eight weeks imprisonment.
From the graft probe in 2023 to sentencing today, it has been more than a year since it was announced that Iswaran was part of a graft probe.
As events unfolded, it was revealed that his dealings involved Mr Ong Beng Seng and Mr Lum Kok Seng. He resigned as an MP in January, saying that he would clear his name at trial.
But in a twist last week, he pleaded guilty to five charges after two of them were amended. The case against Iswaran brought an end to his 27-year political career.
He was first elected in 1997 as a Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC where a four-member People’s Action Party team won 70.1 per cent of the vote that year.
He became the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006 before he was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006. Among his portfolios were Second Minister of Home Affairs, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) and Minister for Communications and Information.
In 2021, Iswaran became Minister for Transport until he resigned from parliament in January 2024, two days before he was charged in court. After pleading guilty last week, he has now been sentenced to 12 months’ jail.
The case against Iswaran brought an end to his 27-year political career. He was first elected in 1997 as a Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC where a four-member People’s Action Party team won 70.1 per cent of the vote that year. He became the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006 before he was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006.
Among his portfolios were Second Minister of Home Affairs, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) and Minister for Communications and Information. In 2021, Iswaran became Minister for Transport until he resigned from parliament in January 2024, two days before he was charged in court.
After pleading guilty last week, he has now been sentenced to 12 months’ jail. Iswaran speaks to two men at basement 1 of the court building, before taking the escalator up. He stops at the entrance to address reporters and says: “I have no comments at this point.”
The 62-year-old did not answer questions about whether he would be appealing the sentence. His family and friends leave the court separately from Iswaran, through the basement car park.
