Three Chinese nationals linked to the global cybercrime syndicate have been charged again in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Property magnate and hotelier Ong Beng Seng was charged in court on Friday (Oct 4) with two offenses related to the case of former Transport Minister S. Iswaran.

Mr Ong, who is a director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), faces one count of sedition under Sections 165 and 204A of the Singapore Penal Code.

Article 165 deals with the acquisition of valuables by a public servant from persons with whom he has an official relationship, while Article 204A deals with obstruction of justice.

If offenders are found guilty under Article 165, they face a prison sentence of two years, a fine or both. Incitement to such crimes carries the same penalties as if the crime is committed because of the incitement.

Ong’s charges stem from his involvement in a high-profile corruption case linked to Iswaran.

The defense has requested a six-week extension for further instructions from Ong, a motion that the prosecution, led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Christopher Ong, did not oppose.

The case has been rescheduled for a pre-trial conference on November 15 at 9am.

Ong is currently out on S$800,000 bail and is represented by Aaron Lee of Allen & Gledhill.

The 80-year-old businessman was named in Iswaran’s first indictment earlier this year.

These allegations alleged that Iswaran corruptly received valuable gifts from Ong, including tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, flights and a hotel stay in Doha.

These gifts were allegedly provided to further Ong’s business interests, particularly in securing contracts with the Singapore Tourism Board for the Singapore GP and the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.

Although Iswaran no longer faces the original corruption charges, the prosecution amended them to lesser charges under Article 165.

Iswaran pleaded guilty on September 24 to four charges under this section, relating to gifts worth more than S$400,000, including airline tickets, admission to sporting events and luxury items such as whiskey and wines.

In addition, he faced one count of obstruction of justice for reimbursing Ong for a Doha-Singapore flight shortly before the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) became involved.

On October 3, Iswaran was sentenced to one year in prison by Judge Vincent Hoong.

The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of six to seven months for all charges, while the defense had asked for a significant sentence reduction of up to eight weeks.

Ong was arrested by CPIB in July 2023

Ong, a Malaysian national based in Singapore, was arrested by CPIB in July 2023 and released on bail shortly afterwards.

Although no charges were initially filed against him, Ong’s involvement in the case increased following Iswaran’s guilty plea.

The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had previously indicated that they would soon make a decision on Ong’s legal status, which has now led to the current charges.

According to the statement of facts read out during Iswaran’s sentencing, Ong’s case came to light as part of a wider investigation into his associates, which revealed Iswaran used Ong’s private jet for a flight from Singapore to Doha in December 2022.

CPIB investigators discovered the flight manifest and seized the document.

When Ong heard that the flight details had been obtained, he contacted Iswaran and advised him to arrange for Singapore GP to invoice him for the flight.

Iswaran subsequently paid Singapore GP S$5,700 for the Doha-Singapore business class flight in May 2023, which formed the basis of his obstruction of justice charge.

Besides Ong, construction magnate Lum Kok Seng was also linked to the additional charges filed against Iswaran in March this year.

Iswaran, who became transport minister in 2021, admitted to accepting valuables worth about S$19,000 from Lum, including a Brompton bicycle, luxury wines and golf equipment.

However, no charges have been publicly announced against Lum.

Controversies surrounding Approx

This is not the first time Ong has been embroiled in controversy.

In the 1990s, there were questions about luxury apartments sold by his company to senior minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son. The units, part of the Nassim Jade and Scotts 28 apartments, are said to have been sold at special discounts.

This raised eyebrows because of Ong’s family ties to the Lees – his uncle, Lee Suan Yew, was a director at HPL. Although then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong acquitted the Lees of any wrongdoing in 1996, the incident has remained a notable mark on Ong’s business record.

In addition, a 2018 investigative report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed allegations of corruption involving Ong in the leasing of two islands in the Maldives.

The report suggested that HPL had circumvented Maldivian laws requiring public tenders for island rentals, and instead conducted direct negotiations with Maldivian officials.

It was also alleged that a $5 million payment for the rent of Fohtheyo Island was siphoned through a company linked to friends of then Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. Ong did not respond to these allegations.

Ong, the founder of Singapore-based organization Hotel Properties and a shareholder in many companies, has a net worth of S$1.7 billion.

Together with his wife Christina, they were ranked number 25 on Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 Richest List, which was published in August 2022.