Singapore: A Singaporean former minister was convicted Tuesday of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts, the public prosecutor said, in the city-state’s first political graft trial for nearly half a century.
Ex-transport minister S. Iswaran, known for helping bring Formula One to the financial hub, was earlier this year hit with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world’s least corrupt.
But prosecutors moved forward with five lesser charges only, including some related to a billionaire property tycoon.
“S. Iswaran pleaded guilty to and was convicted… of four charges for obtaining gifts from two local businessmen. He also pleaded guilty to and was convicted of one charge for obstruction of justice,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.