Ong Beng Seng set to plead guilty to charges linked to Iswaran's case

SINGAPORE — Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is set to plead guilty to two charges linked to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau's (CPIB) investigations into former transport minister S. Iswaran.

Ong was charged on Oct 4, 2024, with abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and with abetting the obstruction of justice.

There was a pre-trial conference for Ong on Feb 28 and his decision to plead guilty to his charges was reflected in an update on the court's case management system following the hearing.

He is scheduled to plead guilty in court on April 2.

Ong, 79, is represented by a team of lawyers from Allen and Gledhill, including Aaron Lee.

The billionaire was charged with one count of abetment under Section 165, which makes it an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value from any person with whom he is involved in an official capacity without payment or with inadequate payment.

According to court documents, the businessman allegedly instigated Iswaran to obtain a valuable item in December 2022 by offering the then minister a trip from Singapore to Doha. The flight on Ong's private plane was valued at US$7,700 (S$10,400).

Ong also arranged a one-night stay in Four Seasons Hotel Doha with a value of $4,737.63, and a business class flight from Doha to Singapore, valued at $5,700, for Iswaran.

Ong was also charged with the abetment of obstruction of justice.

He had allegedly alerted Iswaran that the CPIB had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip, prompting Iswaran to ask the tycoon to bill him for the flight to avoid investigations.

Ong, who is the chairman of Formula One (F1) race promoter Singapore GP, was among a number of individuals called up by the CPIB over the Iswaran probe.

He is known as the man who brought F1 to Singapore in 2008 — the first night race in the sport's history. He owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix.

Iswaran was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and the chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters related to the race.

The two men had worked in the mid-2000s to convince then Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the sport's first night race.

Iswaran, 62, faced a total of 35 charges, most of which involved Ong.

The Attorney-General's Chambers had said no additional charges will be brought against Ong over the former minister's case.

Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months' jail on Oct 3 for, among other things, accepting a number of valuable items from Ong.