Former Singaporean Minister Who Was Charged With Receiving Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars To Premier League Tickets Admits Guilty

JAKARTA - Former Singaporean Transport Minister S. Iswaran admitted that he was guilty of receiving gratuities while in office.

This was conveyed in the first corruption trial involving a minister at the Asian financial center, Tuesday, September 24.

Reported by Reuters, Tuesday, September 24, Iswaran received prizes aka gratuities including tickets to English Premier League football matches and Singapore's Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Iswaran, who joined the cabinet in 2006, was the first Singaporean minister to stand trial in court for a corruption case.

The 62-year-old man was arrested in July last year and accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and other businessman Lum Kok Seng. Iswaran is an advisor to the Grand Prix steering committee, while Ong has race rights.

Ong has not been charged with any offenses and Iswaran has previously rejected the allegations when he resigned from the cabinet.

Singapore's Attorney General's Office said Iswaran pleaded guilty to charges related to civil servants receiving something valuable without payment, or with inadequate payments, from someone involved with him in his official position, and not an indictment that includes corruption.

Surprisingly, the prosecutor reduced the charges faced by Iswaran to five from 35.

The remaining 30 charges will be considered to impose a sentence.

The indictment for receiving gratuities can be subject to imprisonment of up to two years and a fine. Iswaran can be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison and a fine.

However, the prosecutor asked for a lighter sentence, which was six to seven months in prison, while the defense asked for eight weeks, according to CNA. Iswaran will be sentenced on October 3.