Former transport minister S. Iswaran was handed 27 charges on Jan 18, including allegedly obtaining tickets from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng to shows such as Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
Some of the charges were related to alleged incidents that happened between 2015 and 2021, and included obtaining two tickets to a football match between West Ham United and Everton.
A court officer told the court the charges were read to him before the hearing.
Iswaran, who was arrested in July 2023 by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), arrived at the State Courts at around 8am on Jan 18. He arrived with his legal team, which included Senior Counsel Davinder Singh from Davinder Singh Chambers, and did not comment when The Straits Times approached him.
The prosecution team is led by Chief Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng, who is assisted by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jiang Ke-Yue and Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelvin Chong.
When the judge asked Iswaran how he intended to plead, he said: “Not guilty.”
He is now out on $800,000 bail.
The charges are two counts of corruption, 24 counts of obtaining items from someone he had business dealings with as a public servant, and one of obstructing the course of justice. The value of the items in the charges is more than $380,000.
Mr Singh said cautioned statements were taken from Iswaran on 36 charges on Jan 15.
He said the defence learnt on the morning of Jan 18 that there were now just 27 charges, and asked if the prosecution was proceeding with the remaining nine charges.
The prosecution said it was not.
Court documents show that most of the offences Iswaran faces involve Mr Ong, who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008.
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