SINGAPORE, June 11 — Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng will plead guilty on July 3 in a high-profile graft case linked to Singapore’s former transport minister S. Iswaran.
The Straits Times reported that the 79-year-old tycoon’s plea date was confirmed following a pre-trial conference in Singapore yesterday.
His plea was initially slated for April 2 but was delayed after his lawyers requested more time to obtain medical reports.
Ong, best known for bringing Formula One to Singapore in 2008, faces two charges: abetting a public servant to obtain gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice. He was charged on October 4, 2024.
According to court documents, Ong had allegedly arranged for Iswaran to fly on his private jet from Singapore to Doha in December 2022 — a flight valued at US$7,700 (RM32,615).
He also covered a one-night stay for Iswaran at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, worth S$4,737.63, and a business-class return flight to Singapore valued at S$5,700.
Ong is accused of tipping off Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) had seized the flight manifest for the trip, prompting the then-minister to ask Ong to retroactively bill him to avoid scrutiny. This led to Ong being charged with the abetment of obstruction of justice.
Ong’s links to Iswaran go back nearly two decades. In the mid-2000s, the two men worked together to convince then-Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to bring the sport’s first-ever night race to Singapore. Iswaran served as chairman of the F1 steering committee and was the Singapore government’s chief negotiator on related matters with Singapore GP.
Iswaran, 62, was sentenced to 12 months in jail on October 3, 2024, after pleading guilty to five charges, including receiving gifts from Ong and David Lum Kok Seng, managing director of Lum Chang Holdings. He was placed on the Home Detention Scheme in February 2025 and completed his sentence on June 6.
Ong has since announced plans to step down as managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, the company he founded.
