Ong Beng Seng, chairman of F1 race promoter Singapore GP, was among a number of individuals called up by the CPIB over the S. Iswaran probe. ST
SINGAPORE: Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng arrived at the State Courts at 2.20pm on Friday (Oct 4), where he is expected to be handed two charges.
He was accompanied by his lawyer Aaron Lee from Allen and Gledhill.
Ong, who is the chairman of Formula One (F1) race promoter Singapore GP, was among a number of individuals called up by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) over the S. Iswaran probe.
The 78-year-old will face one charge under Section 165, which makes it an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value from any person with whom they are involved in an official capacity without payment or with inadequate payment.
He is accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts.
Ong will also face one charge of obstruction of justice.
His court appearance comes more than a year after he was arrested by the CPIB on July 11, 2023. He subsequently posted bail of $100,000 and was also allowed to travel to Bali.
Court documents for Iswaran’s case showed it was Ong who alerted him that the anti-graft body had seized the flight manifest for the trip in December 2022, prompting the former Cabinet minister to ask the tycoon to bill him for the flight to avoid investigations into the gifts.
This formed the basis of Iswaran’s obstruction of justice charge.
Iswaran, 62, was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on Oct 3 after pleading guilty to five charges, including accepting a number of valuable items from Ong, including an all-expenses-paid trip to Doha.
Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), the property and hotel developer co-founded by Ong, had on the morning of Oct 4 requested a trading halt pending the release of an announcement.
Ong is also the company’s managing director and controlling shareholder.
The tycoon is known as the man who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008 – the first night race in the sport’s history. He owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix.
Iswaran was the chairman of the F1 steering committee, and the chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters relating to the race.
The two men had worked in the mid-2000s to convince then Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the sport’s first night race. - The Straits Times/ANN
