By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A Singapore court charged a property billionaire on Friday with obstructing justice and abetting offences by a disgraced ex-transport minister jailed a day earlier in the city-state’s high-profile government graft case.
Ong Beng Seng, the 78-year-old owner of Hotel Properties Ltd and rights holder to the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race, is accused of giving high-value gifts to ex-minister S. Iswaran, who on Thursday became the first former cabinet member to be jailed in Singapore.
The case has been the subject of major intrigue in Singapore, a wealthy financial hub that offers ministers salaries of more than S$1 million dollars ($771,247) to deter graft and prides itself on its reputation for clean governance.
Iswaran was imprisoned for 12 months for obstructing justice and improperly receiving gifts as a public servant, with Ong a central part of the prosecution’s case.
Ong has so far issued no comment on the accusations. Channel NewsAsia said he entered no plea on Friday and did not indicate how he would plead.
Ong’s firm, Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd, requested a trading halt early on Friday following Thursday’s announcement he would be charged.
Prosecutors during Iswaran’s trial said the ex-minister received gifts worth more than $300,000, including tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the F1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet to Doha.
Ong was charged with one count of abetting Iswaran’s receiving of valuables and one count of obstruction of justice, according to the charge sheet.
The court during Iswaran’s trial heard how the minister had asked Ong to bill him for the Doha trip on the private jet after he discovered the anti-graft agency had seized the flight manifest for an unrelated case.
Justice Vincent Hoong, who presided over Iswaran’s case, on Thursday said the minister’s request to be billed was a deliberate move to obstruct the course of justice and try to evade investigation.
Channel NewsAsia said Ong’s court hearing was adjourned until pre-trial proceedings on Nov. 15.
($1 = 1.2966 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Martin Petty and Jacqueline Wong)
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