Ong Beng Seng set to be charged on Oct 4 over Iswaran case

SINGAPORE: Property tycoon, hotelier and Singapore GP head Ong Beng Seng is expected to be charged on Friday (Oct 4), according to court records. 
The charges appear to be for abetting one count each under Section 165 and Section 204A of the Penal Code. Section 165 relates to a public servant obtaining valuables while Section 204A pertains to obstructing justice.
Court records also indicated that the property tycoon is out on S$800,000 (US$617,000) bail.
Mr Ong, 78, made headlines in recent months because of his links to former minister S Iswaran.
He was named in Iswaran’s initial graft charges, which alleged that the then-transport minister had corruptly obtained from Mr Ong tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, as well as flights and a hotel stay in Doha.
The charges under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act alleged that these gifts were obtained as inducement for advancing Mr Ong’s business interests in contracts with the Singapore Tourism Board for Singapore GP and the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.
These charges were amended by the prosecution to lesser charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, for obtaining valuables from someone linked to him in an official capacity.
Iswaran pleaded guilty on Sep 24 to four charges under Section 165 involving more than S$400,000 in items like flight, football and musical tickets, whisky and wines, as well as one count of obstructing justice by repaying Mr Ong for the Doha-Singapore flight.
The former minister was sentenced to a year’s jail on Oct 3.
Mr Ong, a Malaysian who is based in Singapore, was arrested in July 2023 and released on bail. No charges were previously filed against him.
After Iswaran pleaded guilty, the AGC said it “will take a decision in respect of Mr Ong Beng Seng soon”.
No mention was made of construction boss Lum Kok Seng, the other businessman linked to Iswaran’s case.
Lum Chang Building Contractors, where Mr Lum is a director, had entered into a S$325 million contract for works to Tanah Merah Station and its viaducts in 2016, before Iswaran became transport minister in 2021.
Iswaran admitted to obtaining about S$19,000 in valuable items from Mr Lum. These included bottles of whisky and wine, golf drivers and clubs and a S$7,907 Brompton bicycle, a gift for his 60th birthday.
Iswaran’s case came to light in May 2023. The CPIB was investigating a separate matter relating to Mr Ong’s associates when it came across a flight manifest showing Iswaran had taken a trip on the billionaire’s private jet from Singapore to Doha in December 2022.
When Mr Ong learnt that the flight manifest had been seized by CPIB, he called Iswaran, who then asked Mr Ong to have Singapore GP bill him for the Doha trip. The expenses included a return business class flight from Doha to Singapore on Dec 11, 2022. 
Iswaran issued a cheque for S$5,700 to Singapore GP in May 2023, with this repayment forming the basis of his obstruction of justice charge.