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<h2>Singapore&#8217;s Transport Minister S Iswaran was charged with 27 offences in a graft investigation, the anti-corruption agency said on Thursday, 18 January, in one of the highest-profile cases involving a minister in the Asian financial hub in decades</h2>
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<p>In a resignation letter dated Tuesday, 16 January, but published by the prime minister&#8217;s office on Thursday, Iswaran said he rejected the charges and &#8220;will now focus on clearing my name&#8221;.</p>
<p>The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said Iswaran, who was arrested in July last year, was alleged to have obtained kickbacks worth SGD384,340.98 (RM1.3 million) from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, partly to advance Ong&#8217;s business interests.</p>
<p>Charge sheets show the favours include tickets to football matches, musicals, a flight on Ong&#8217;s private plane, and tickets to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix.&nbsp;Iswaran&nbsp;was advisor to the Grand Prix&#8217;s steering committee, while Ong owns the rights to the race.</p>
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                    <a href="https://images.says.com/uploads/story_source/source_image/1210049/null" target="" class="imgwrap colorbox-image cboxElement" title="S Iswaran leaving the State Courts today, 18 January." rel="segment-810 noopener"><br />
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<p class="img-caption">S Iswaran leaving the State Courts today, 18 January.</p>
<p>                <small class="img-credit">Image via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3248848/singapore-transport-minister-s-iswaran-hit-27-charges-corruption-probe" rel="noopener">Bloomberg via SCMP</a></small>
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<h2>Iswaran faces a total of 27 charges, including corruption and obstructing the course of justice, the CPIB said in a statement</h2>
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<p>If convicted of corruption, he could be fined up to SGD100,000 (RM351,000) or face seven years in prison.</p>
<p>There was no immediate response to emails seeking comment from Ong&#8217;s office. The property tycoon was also arrested in July as part of the corruption probe. He has not been charged.</p>
<p>The case has gripped Singapore, a major Asian financial hub that prides itself on a squeaky clean government that is rarely affected by graft and scandals involving political leaders.</p>
<p>Civil servants are highly paid to discourage corruption. The annual salary of many cabinet ministers exceeds SGD1 million (RM3.51 million).</p>
<p>In 2022, Transparency International ranked the city-state the fifth least corrupt country in its International Corruption Perceptions Index of 180 nations.</p>
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<p>                <small class="img-credit">Image via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-transport-minister-charged-court-graft-case-local-media-2024-01-18" rel="noopener">Kelvin Chng/The Straits Times via Reuters</a></small>
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<h2>Ruling party hit</h2>
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<p><p>Iswaran, 61, joined Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong&#8217;s cabinet as a junior minister in 2006 and held trade and communications portfolios before becoming transport minister in May 2021.</p>
<p>The last corruption case involving a minister was in 1986 when the national development minister was investigated for allegedly accepting bribes. The minister died before he could be charged in court.</p>
<p>Singapore is due to hold elections by 2025. In August, Lee admitted his ruling People&#8217;s Action Party (PAP) had taken a hit over the graft probe and the resignations of two senior PAP lawmakers on account of an &#8220;inappropriate relationship&#8221;.</p>
<p>The party is also due for a leadership transition with Lee promising to hand the baton to his successor Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong by November.</p>
<p>Addressing local media on Thursday, Wong acknowledged the graft case&#8217;s negative impact on the PAP but said it would not affect leadership transition plans.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are disappointed by what has happened. We are saddened. We are disappointed that&nbsp;Iswaran&nbsp;had to leave politics under these circumstances. But the PAP stance on corruption is non-negotiable,&#8221; said Wong.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have announced that the leadership transition will take place before the next general election and before the party conference this year. This plan remains on track.&#8221;</p>
<p>Referring to&nbsp;Iswaran&#8217;s case at a PAP event last November, Lee said the party must &#8220;show Singaporeans and the world that after half a century in government, the PAP’s standards remain as high as ever&#8221;.</p>
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Singapore Transport Minister Charged For Allegedly Accepting RM1.3M From Business Tycoon

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<h2>On Wednesday, 3 January, the Shah Alam High Court reduced the sentence of a former judge from six months to one day of jail for the crime of receiving RM5,000 without consideration</h2>
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<p>According to the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2024/01/996812/high-court-sentenced-ex-judge-day-jail-corruption">New Straits Times,</a>&nbsp;Judge Hasbullah Adam dismissed 50-year-old Azmil Muntapha Abas&#8217; appeal to challenge&nbsp;Session Court&#8217;s conviction in October 2022 against him, as he found no meritorious reason to do so.</p>
<p>&#8220;I found that the conviction is sound and decided that the appeal against the conviction is dismissed.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, the court allowed the appeal against the sentence by setting aside the lower court&#8217;s sentence and replacing it with <b>a one-day imprisonment</b> and <b>a fine of RM12,000</b>,&#8221; Hasbullah said.</p>
<p>He explained that Azmil was found guilty under Section 165 of the Penal Code for accepting any valuable items without consideration, which is punishable by up to two years in jail or a fine, or both. However, he noted that the provision does not mandate imprisonment.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is different from Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which stipulates a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine five times the value of the gratification,&#8221; Hasbullah added.</p>
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<h2>In October 2022, Session Court judge Rasyihah Ghazali originally sentenced Azmil to six months in jail and fined him RM25,000</h2>
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<p>In his judgement, Rasyihah said Azmil&#8217;s defence failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution&#8217;s case.</p>
<p>Azmil was found guilty, in his capacity as the Kuala Kubu Bharu Session Court judge, of obtaining RM5,000 from a person whom he knew had a connection with his official function involving court proceedings for six accused in criminal cases.</p>
<p>The six accused were charged under Section 9 of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.</p>
<p>Azmil was granted a stay of execution pending an appeal at the High Court, with the bail amount increased from RM6,000 to RM12,000.</p>
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High Court Reduces Ex-Judge's 6 Month Jail Sentence To 1 Day For Pocketing RM5,000

Singapore Transport Minister Charged For Allegedly Accepting RM1.3M From Business Tycoon

High Court Reduces Ex-Judge’s 6 Month Jail Sentence To 1 Day For Pocketing RM5,000