Singapore Minister Quits After Being Charged With Corruption

Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran has resigned after being charged with corruption, the prime minister’s office said, confirming a historic development for a city-state that prides itself on having a squeaky-clean government, as reported by Heather Chen for CNN.

The charges against Iswaran are part of the biggest corruption probe to engulf Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in decades. I Photo: S. Iswaran Facebook

The charges against Iswaran are part of the biggest corruption probe to engulf Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in decades.

The scandal, which also ensnared a hotel tycoon best known for bringing the Formula 1 Grand Prix to the city, was one in a series of controversies for the government in the past year that sent shockwaves through the country.

Iswaran is the country’s first sitting minister to be charged with a criminal offense.

The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986. Teh Cheang Wan, who served as the Minister for National Development and proposed to ban sales of chewing gum in Singapore, was probed for accepting bribes from private firms. He died before being charged.

According to charge sheets seen by CNN, the charges included allegations that he was gifted by Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng, more than 160,000 Singapore dollars ($119,000) in bribes in exchange for advancing his business interests.

Those gifts allegedly included business class flights, luxury hotel stays, tickets to the F1 Grand Prix, English Premier League matches, and West End musicals. The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986.

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