Iswaran not appealing 12-month jail sentence

Former transport minister S. Iswaran arrived at the State Courts at around 3.30pm on Oct 7 to begin his 12-month jail sentence.

He then made his way to State Court 4A to surrender himself before the 4pm deadline.

Accompanied by his lawyers, he arrived at court where his immediate family members appeared to be absent. 

Shortly after entering the courtroom and taking a seat, Iswaran stood up to greet a man, seemingly a good friend, and gave him a hug.

Iswaran looked sombre and had his head down while in the courtroom.

A few minutes later, he was escorted out by uniformed officers.

'I apologise unreservedly to all Singaporeans'

Earlier in a statement on his Facebook page at 1.20pm on Monday (Oct 7), Iswaran said he will not be appealing the sentence handed to him by the High Court.

He added that he will start serving his sentence on the same day.

He also stated it was important to him that the charges against him were amended by the public prosecutor.

"I accept that as a minister what I did was wrong under Section 165. I accept full responsibility for my actions and apologise unreservedly to all Singaporeans," he wrote.

Iswaran added that the emotional toll on his loved ones of a long trial extending well into 2025 and possibly beyond, has weighed heavily on him. He also said the past 15 months have been "most difficult".

The 62-year-old thanked those who have stood by him, stating that they helped him "face the darkest hours with strength".

"Serving my constituents and Singaporeans over the past three decades has been the greatest honour of my life. As this chapter of my life comes to a close, my family and I look to the future with gratitude and renewed hope." he wrote.

He was sentenced to 12 months' jail by Chief Justice Vincent Hoong on Oct 3, nearly double of the six to seven months that was asked for by the prosecution.

Iswaran had pleaded guilty to a total of five charges on Sept 24 — four for obtaining gifts as a public servant under Section 165, and one charge for the obstruction of justice. 

Justice Hoong said the sentences that the prosecution and defence requested were "manifestly inadequate", adding that it was therefore, "appropriate to impose a sentence in excess of both parties' positions". 

In his judgement summary, Justice Hoong spoke about how Iswaran's offenses caused damage to people's trust in public institutions. He added that the former minister acted with deliberation and culpability and did not show remorse.

The defence, led by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, had requested for a sentence of no more than eight weeks for all five of Iswaran's charges.

After the sentence was met out, Singh requested for his client’s sentence to commence on Monday, to which Justice Hoong agreed.

Iswaran was out on $800,000 bail amount.

ALSO READ: 'Manifestly inadequate': Judge on why Iswaran received a year in jail instead of shorter sentence

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com