SINGAPORE, July 28 — In a significant development, property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is set to plead guilty on August 4 to charges related to a case involving former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran.
This decision follows a pre-trial conference held on July 28.
Ong, 79, who is currently out on S$800,000 (RM2.6 million) bail, has been navigating the legal system for several months.
The businessman planned to plead guilty on April 2.
However, this was postponed after his legal team requested additional time to obtain his medical reports.
The plea was then rescheduled for July 3, but was again delayed as both the prosecution and defence required more time to file further submissions on sentencing.
The case has since undergone multiple pre-trial conferences, reflecting its complexity and high stakes.
In October 4, 2024, Ong was accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and obstructing justice.
According to court documents, Ong allegedly arranged for Iswaran to fly on his private plane from Singapore to Doha in December 2022, a flight valued at US$7,700 (RM25,372).
Additionally, Ong is accused of arranging a one-night stay for Mr. Iswaran at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, valued at S$4,737.63, and a business-class flight from Doha to Singapore, valued at S$5,700.
The court documents further reveal that Ong informed Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip.
Iswaran then told Ong to bill him for the flight to avoid investigations.
As a result, Ong was charged with abetment of obstruction of justice.
Ong is widely recognised for bringing Formula One (F1) to Singapore in 2008, marking the first night race in the sport's history.
Iswaran, who was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and the Singapore government’s chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters related to the race, worked closely with Ong in the mid-2000s to convince then Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the sport's first night race.
Iswaran was handed a 12-month jail term on October 3, 2024, for accepting valuable items from Ong, among other charges.
