Plea Deal for Prominent Singapore HotelierWith election looming, government seeks to draw line under scandal
By: Andy Wong Ming Jun
Prominent Singapore hotelier Ong Beng Seng is expected to plead guilty on April 2 to charges linked to the government’s investigation into former transport minister S. Iswaran and the Formula 1 night race, which was renewed in January 2022 for another seven years. Iswaran, a stalwart member of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) pleaded guilty to five bribery counts last October and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. The Malaysia-born Ong’s guilty plea is expected to draw the final line under what has been an embarrassing affair to rock the PAP, which has long promoted its reputation as one of the world’s most incorruptible countries after Denmark according to the United Nations Regional Information Center. The swift conclusion of the scandal will also remove a thorn from the side of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the PAP, with general elections due by November. The party emerged from the 2020 election having won 61.2 percent of the vote, its worst showing since it came to power in 1965. According to state media reports, the 81-year-old Ong was initially charged on October 4, 2024 with one count of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and with abetting the obstruction of justice. Abetment constitutes an offense for a public servant to accept anything of value from any person with whom he is involved in an official capacity without payment or with inadequate payment. According to court documents, Ong allegedly offered the then-transport minister a trip on his private plane from Singapore to Doha valued at S$10,400 (US$7,700). Ong would later also arrange a one-night stay in Four Seasons Hotel Doha valued at S$4,737.63 (US$3,528), and a business-class flight from Doha to Singapore, valued at S$5,700 (US$4,244. Ong allegedly also later alerted Iswaran that Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip following investigations triggered by tipoffs from an anonymous Singaporean observer of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone’s June 2023 tax fraud case in London, prompting Iswaran to ask the tycoon to backdate the bill for the flight to avoid investigations. Ong’s involvement in Singapore’s F1 corruption scandal is hardly the only one which he has been exposed of using exorbitant gifts and facilitating of luxury hotel stays to get his way in business. In 1995, he was also embroiled in an affair in which Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister of Singapore, and family members purchased discounted pre-release luxury condominiums in the Nassim Jade complex built by Ong’s property development company, Hotel Properties Ltd. At the direction of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, the Monetary Authority of Singapore investigated the Lees' purchase of units at the two condominiums, for which they had received more than US$1 million in discounts. Both Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong came out with strong public statements defending the propriety of their dealings. Goh subsequently cleared them of any wrongdoing and the discounts were donated to charity. In September 2018, documents were leaked to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) incriminating Ong in a corruption scandal in the Maldives involving the former tourism minister and vice president, Ahmed Adeeb, doling out island leases through opaque no-bid processes to developers like Ong. Ong’s guilty plea reportedly has been driven by health concerns, with reports indicating that he has bone marrow cancer and has been seeking treatment abroad, with his previous requests for overseas medical treatment travel being granted with heightened bail conditions. However, several sources say Ong’s bone marrow cancer precedes the investigations and leveling of corruption charges against him. There is no clear indication that Ong will be successful in his bid for leniency from the law. Not only had Iswaran been sentenced more heavily than what state prosecutors had asked for, his charges had actually been significantly downgraded from the initial 27 brought against him in January 2024. Iswaran had also voluntarily returned some S$380,305.95 (US$283,710) to the state prior to his conviction and sentencing, with Ong having made no such similar show of penance. In a press statement, Hotel Properties stated its continued support for Ong remaining as its managing director for the Singapore-listed company. “The Nominating Committee has assessed the above, and is of the view that at this juncture, Ong continues to be suitable to carry out his duties and responsibilities as managing director.” Owing to Ong’s ill health and age, much of his wealth and business responsibilities have long since been bequeathed to his wife and children. As for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix which Ong and Iswaran had been instrumental in conceiving for the island-state, it is now in its third year running following its contract renewal back in 2022 for a record-breaking seven years. This is among the stories/excerpts we choose to make widely available.If you wish to get the full Asia Sentinel experience and access more exclusive content, please do subscribe to us for US$10/month or US$100/year.
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