M'sian-born property tycoon set to plead guilty in case linked to S'pore ex-minister
PETALING JAYA : Malaysian property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is set to enter a guilty plea on Aug 4 to offences in a case linked to Singapore's former transport minister S Iswaran.
The billionaire was charged on Oct 4 last year with abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice, reported The Straits Times.
Ong, 79, 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.
He was then slated to plead guilty on July 3, but this was again rescheduled one day before the hearing as the prosecution and defence needed more time to file further submissions.
The case then went through several pre-trial conferences.
According to court documents, Ong had arranged for Iswaran to fly on his private plane from Singapore to Doha in December 2022. The flight was valued at US$7,700 (about RM32,500).
He also arranged a one-night stay for Iswaran at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha before arranging a business class flight back to Singapore. Both are valued at US$4,737.63 (about RM20,000) and US$5,700 (about RM24,000), respectively.
Ong had allegedly told Iswaran the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip, prompting the then minister to ask the tycoon to bill him for the flight to avoid an investigation.
Ong said in February that he intended to plead guilty to the obstruction charge and consented to having the other charge taken into consideration for sentencing.
The tycoon is best known as the man who brought Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008.
Iswaran was the chairman of Singapore's F1 steering committee and the government's chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters related to the race.
Both men had worked to convince then Formula 1 group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the race.
In October last year, Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months' jail on four charges of accepting valuable items as a public servant, and one charge of obstruction of justice.
He was placed under home detention in February and completed his prison term last month.
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