SINGAPORE, Nov 10 — Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has decided not to revoke billionaire Ong Beng Seng’s permanent resident (PR) status, opting instead to issue a formal warning following his conviction earlier this year, The Straits Times reported.
“Instead, he has been issued a Letter of Warning to put him on notice that any future adverse conduct will render him liable for revocation of his PR status,” the ICA said today in response to the paper’s queries.
The move follows the 78-year-old property tycoon’s S$30,000 (RM96,000) fine in August after pleading guilty to a charge of abetting the obstruction of justice in a corruption case linked to former transport minister S. Iswaran.
Ong, who holds Malaysian citizenship, had admitted to arranging belated payment of S$5,700 for a business class flight that Iswaran took from Doha to Singapore, after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) uncovered the trip while probing a separate matter involving Ong’s associates.
Another charge, taken into consideration for sentencing, involved abetting Iswaran in obtaining gifts.
The court exercised leniency given Ong’s health; he was diagnosed with advanced multiple myeloma in 2020.
In August, the ICA said that all Singapore PRs convicted of an offence would have their status reviewed.
The latest update clarifies that Ong’s case has been assessed and will not lead to revocation at this stage.
Responding to a separate parliamentary question in September, Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said foreigners who break the country’s laws or engage in undesirable conduct may have their passes or permits cancelled.
“There is a framework to assess such cases, based on the facts, the nature and severity of the incident, the person’s family roots here, and the contributions of the person to Singapore,” he said at the time.
Ong, born in Malaysia in 1946, moved to Singapore at the age of four. He began his career in international insurance underwriting before joining Kuo International, an oil trading firm owned by his father-in-law, Peter Fu.
He later founded Hotel Properties Limited in 1980, building a global portfolio of luxury hotels and real estate, and is widely credited with bringing Formula 1 racing to Singapore.
