ingapore charged property tycoon on Friday over the case of an ex-government minister who was sentenced to jail for obtaining gifts from the billionaire. The 78-year-old Ong didn’t immediately enter a plea in response to the charges of abetment and obstruction of justice, and didn’t respond to questions when he left court. The charges come a day after former transport minister S.
Iswaran was for obtaining valuable items as a public servant and obstruction of justice. The scandal has rocked the city-state, known for its zeal for clean governance, with Iswaran having become the first former minister to be sentenced to prison for the first time in almost half a century. The shift in focus to Ong comes as Prime Minister , who , prepares to lead the ruling party into a general election that must be held by November 2025.
The case against Iswaran has tested the party that has ruled Singapore uninterrupted since independence in 1965. He has since left the party. Ong, who was arrested in July 2023 and given bail, has been widely credited for bringing Formula One to the city, and was seen at the night race held in September.
He owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix, as the night event is known, and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP Pte. But his business practices were brought under the microscope after his ties with Iswaran led to the worst graft scandal in the financial hub for decades. Most of the court charges leveled against Iswaran dealt with his interactions wi.