(Bloomberg) -- Singapore is set to charge property billionaire Ong Beng Seng over the case of an ex-government minister who was sentenced to 12 months in prison for obtaining gifts from the businessman. Most Read from Bloomberg Ong is expected to face two counts, including one related to abetment and another linked to obstruction of justice, according to court records for the Friday hearing. This comes after S.
Iswaran, who served as transport minister until his resignation in January, was handed a 12-month prison term for bribery and obstruction of justice. It’s the latest response to a scandal that has rocked a 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 Lawrence Wong, who came to power in May, 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 was arrested in July 2023 and released on bail of S$800,000 ($617,000).
A spokesperson for Ong declined to comment. A spokesperson for Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The 78-year-old tycoon Ong, widely credited for bringing Formula One to the city, was seen at the night race which ran Sept.
20-22. He own.