In a surprise decision, former Singaporean transport minister S. Iswaran was handed a one-year jail sentence on Oct 3. This exceeded the requests of both prosecution and defence, which Justice Vincent Hoong described as “manifestly inadequate”.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Former Transport Minister S Iswaran has been sentenced to 12 months' jail.
00:07Here's the breakdown of his sentence, according to his five charges.
00:13For obtaining 10 green room tickets to the 2017 Singapore F1 Grand Prix, 6 months' jail.
00:23For the flight to Doha on Singapore GP Chairman Ong Beng Seng's private plane,
00:28one-night stay in Four Seasons Hotel Doha and a business class return flight to Singapore,
00:343 months and 3 weeks' jail.
00:38For obstructing justice by paying $5,700 to Singapore GP to cover the cost of his business class flight ticket,
00:474 months' jail.
00:50For obtaining 14 bottles of whisky and wine from Mr David Lam Kok Seng,
00:55the Managing Director of mainboard-listed construction company Lam Chung Holdings, 2 months' jail.
01:04For obtaining a Brompton T-Line bicycle from Mr Lam, 3 months' jail.
01:11The sentences for the acceptance of the green room tickets,
01:14the 14 bottles of liquor and obstructing justice will run consecutively.
01:19This adds up to a total of 12 months.
01:22The remaining sentences will run concurrently.
01:31Iswaran's sentence exceeded the requests of both prosecution and defence,
01:36which Justice Vincent Hoong described as manifestly inadequate.
01:41Deputy Attorney General Tai Wei Shiong had asked for 6 to 7 months' jail,
01:46while Iswaran's lawyer, Mr Davinder Singh, had argued for no more than 8 weeks.
01:53Justice Hoong said that general deterrence, aimed at setting an example for others who commit offences,
01:59should be the primary consideration in his sentencing decision.
02:04The higher the office held by the offender as a public servant, the higher his level of culpability.
02:12Justice Hoong said he had considerable difficulty believing that Iswaran was remorseful,
02:17as he had made public statements rejecting the charges, saying they were false.
02:22Furthermore, Iswaran had acted with deliberation in obtaining gifts.
02:27Justice Hoong added that significant harm was caused to trust in the public office.
02:32Iswaran is due to surrender himself on October 7 at the state courts.