Singapore's Indian-origin Transport Minister resigns amid graft charges

Singapore, Jan 18

Singapore's Indian-origin Transport Minister, S. Iswaran has stepped down from his post after facing 27 charges of offences in a corruption probe, which also included receiving tickets from a top property tycoon.

The 61-year-old minister, who was arrested on July 11 last year and released on SG$800,000 bail, also resigned as an MP from the ruling People's Action Party, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, dated January 16, Iswaran said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) charged him with various offences.

“I reject the allegations in the charges and will now focus on clearing my name. Given the circumstances, I feel it is right for me to resign from Cabinet, as a Member of Parliament and as a member of the PAP,” he wrote.

Iswaran, who was on a leave of absence since the probe began in July 2023, will repay his salary as a minister and allowances as an MP from that month.

“My family and I have decided to return the monies because we cannot in all good conscience benefit from them when I was unable, on account of the investigations, to discharge my duties as a minister and Member of Parliament,” he said in the letter.

He added that he will not be seeking the return of the amount if he is acquitted.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that effective from Thursday, Chee Hong Tat will replace Iswaran as Transport Minister.

Earlier in the day, Iswaran appeared before a district judge and was charged with two counts of corruption over bribes.

He is accused of accepting more than SG$160,000 from billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng to advance the latter's business interests in a Singapore Grand Prix contract with the city-state's Tourism Board in September and December 2022.

Iswaran also faces 24 charges of accepting valuable items worth more than SG$218,000, including Singapore Grand Prix tickets, between November 2015 and December 2021 from Ong -- credited with bringing F1 racing to Singapore -- while being a public servant, and one charge of obstructing justice in May 2023.

His political career spans more than 26 years, and he was first elected in 1997 as an MP for West Coast Group Representation Constituency.

In May 2021, he was appointed Minister for Transport and was concurrently minister-in-charge of trade relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) since May 2018.