PSP seeks greater clarity from AGC on prosecutorial decisions against ex-minister Iswaran

SINGAPORE: Following the sentencing of former Transport Minister Iswaran to 12 months in jail by Singapore's court, the alternative party Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has issued a statement expressing concern over the ruling.

In a statement released at noon on 3 October, Ms Hazel Poa, Secretary-General of the PSP, noted that Mr Iswaran, who is also a former Member of Parliament from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), was sentenced for four counts of obtaining gifts as a public servant under Section 165 of the Penal Code 1871, and one count of obstructing justice under Section 204A of the same code.

Ms Poa, who is also a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, stated that, given the high level of public interest in this case, the PSP looks forward to receiving greater clarity from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) regarding its prosecutorial decisions at the appropriate juncture.

On the morning of 3 October, the court granted Iswaran’s request to surrender himself at 4 p.m. on 7 October to begin serving his sentence.

However, his lead lawyer, Davinder Singh, indicated that the start of the sentence could be delayed depending on “instructions,” hinting at the possibility of an appeal.

Iswaran admitted to accepting valuable gifts from prominent businessmen, including Ong Beng Seng, chairman of Singapore GP, and David Lum Kok Seng, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings, while holding public office.

These gifts, which included private flights and other benefits, were worth over S$400,000 in total.

The 35 charges against Iswaran were amended by the prosecution on 24 September from corruption to lesser offences under Section 165, which pertains to public servants receiving valuable items in connection with their official duties.

The court also took into account Iswaran’s admission of obstructing the course of justice, for which he had repaid over S$5,000 to Singapore GP for a business-class flight he had taken at Ong’s expense.

The remaining 30 charges were taken into account during sentencing.

Iswaran had originally faced 35 charges, including two counts of corruption.

The charges were amended from two counts of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) to offences under Section 165.

This section, unlike Section 8 of the PCA, does not include a presumption of corruption, which would have placed the burden on the accused to prove the gifts were not given as inducements.

The AGC in an explanation cited substantial evidentiary risks in proving the original corruption charges, which involved  Ong Beng Seng and Lum Kok Seng.

The AGC noted that proving the original corruption charges under PCA would have been difficult due to the involvement of both Iswaran and Ong as primary parties.

Both would have had to implicate themselves to establish corrupt intent.

The AGC explained that “there are two primary parties to the transactions, and both would have an interest in denying corruption in the transactions.” This made securing a conviction for corruption highly uncertain.

In light of these risks, the AGC amended the charges to offenses under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which carries a lower evidentiary threshold and a reduced maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

According to AGC, the amendment was made to ensure a fair and just outcome while considering public interest.