SINGAPORE: Malaysian property tycoon Ong Beng Seng (pic) will have his case heard in court again on July 23 in a pre-trial conference.
This comes after his pre-trial conference on July 8, in a case linked to former transport minister S. Iswaran.
According to the court system, Ong’s July 8 hearing was adjourned for parties to file revised papers. Details were not provided.
Ong, 79, had previously been scheduled to plead guilty on July 3. But this was rescheduled one day before the hearing as the prosecution and defence needed more time to file further submissions on sentencing.
Ong was first set to plead guilty on April 2, but this was postponed after his lawyers asked for an extension to obtain his medical reports.
The billionaire was charged on Oct 4, 2024, with abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice.
Under Section 165, it is an offence for a public servant to accept anything of value from anyone with whom he is involved in an official capacity without payment or with inadequate payment.
According to court documents, the businessman had in December 2022 allegedly arranged for Iswaran to fly on Ong’s private plane from Singapore to Doha. The flight was valued at US$7,700.
Ong also allegedly arranged for Iswaran a one-night stay at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, valued at S$4,737.63, and a business-class flight from Doha to Singapore, valued at S$5,700.
Court documents showed Ong allegedly told Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip. It prompted Iswaran to ask the tycoon to bill him for the flight to avoid investigations.
For this alleged offence, Ong was charged with the abetment of obstruction of justice.
The businessman is known as the man who brought Formula One (F1) to Singapore in 2008 – the first night race in the sport’s history.
Iswaran was chairman of the F1 steering committee and the Government’s chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters related 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 that first night race.
Iswaran was handed a 12-month jail term on Oct 3, 2024, for, among other things, accepting a number of valuable items from Ong. - The Straits Times/ANN
