Indian-Origin Ex-Minister Gets Extension To Stay Out Of Singapore Due To Illness

Singapore's Indian-origin former transport minister S Iswaran, facing two corruption charges in a court, was on Monday given permission to remain outside Singapore for an additional 16 days after he fell ill while in Australia, following an application by his lawyers on the final day of the window he was initially granted approval for.

Iswaran, who faces multiple charges including two of corruption, was given permission last month to leave Singapore for Australia between February 16 and March 4 to help his son settle into university.

"At an urgent mention at the State Courts today, the defence filed an application to extend Iswaran's permission to leave jurisdiction by 16 days, until Mar 19, 2024, as he had fallen ill while in Australia," Channel News Asia quoted an Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) spokesperson as saying.

The prosecution did not object to the application, subject to the enhanced bail conditions being met.

The statement did not include details of Iswaran's illness.

Under the terms of the extension, Iswaran will have to report to an investigation officer daily via video call to provide updates on his medical condition and whether there will be any issues regarding his return to Singapore on Mar 19.

Iswaran's bailor must also consent to the extension of his stay in Australia.

The former minister will now have to surrender his passport to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau on Mar 20.

The prosecution did not object to Iswaran's initial application on Feb 8 as long as he adhered to additional bail conditions – including an extra bail sum of SGD500,000 in cash on top of his existing bail of SGD800,000.

Apart from the additional cash bail, Iswaran was also required to provide his travel itinerary and overseas address to an investigating officer, as well as remain contactable by the investigating officer at all times.

Iswaran's case will be transferred to the High Court when he returns, due to the strong public interest in this case.

He is accused of 24 counts of obtaining, as a minister, items with a total value of more than SGD200,000 from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Ong is the man who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008.

These items include tickets to the Singapore Grand Prix (GP), football matches in Britain and musicals.

Several of the charges are related to alleged incidents that happened between 2015 and 2021, and involved him purportedly obtaining tickets to a football match between West Ham United and Everton, and shows such as ‘Harry Potter and The Cursed Child'.

He also faces a charge of obstructing the course of justice on or about May 25, 2023.

According to court documents, he had allegedly made repayment of SGD5,700 – the cost of his business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore that he purportedly took on December 11, 2022, at Mr Ong's expense – through Singapore GP. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)