Former Singapore minister S Iswaran sentenced to 12 months’ jail for obtaining valuables worth S$403,300, obstructing justice

Section 165 is such a rare offence that there are no reported cases and no sentencing framework for it.

In sentencing arguments, Mr Tai argued that Iswaran was “more than a passive acceptor of gifts”. 

He said the objective of the Section 165 offence is to criminalise a public servant who, through obtaining or accepting gifts, “makes questionable his loyalty to the government in respect of the business transactions in question”.

Mr Tai said Iswaran’s actions, when he was the most senior government representative negotiating with SGP on F1-related business matters, “significantly compromised his position as chief negotiator for the government”.

Defence counsel Mr Singh said Iswaran did not actively seek out the items given to him and that he did not know about Section 165 at the time, although he accepts that “ignorance of the law is no excuse”.

He said “the mere dint of the prosecution” against Iswaran was “the most powerful signal that can be sent”.

“The Singapore Government has made it clear that if a public servant accepts gifts and the ingredients under Section 165 are satisfied, that public servant will be prosecuted,” said Mr Singh.

Explaining some of Iswaran’s actions, he said Mr Ong told Iswaran in December 2022 during the World Cup that Mr Hassan Al-Thawadi, the chairman of the World Cup Organising Committee, had invited Mr Ong to watch the quarter-final matches in Doha.

Mr Ong invited Iswaran to join him, and Iswaran understood the invitation to be because Mr Ong considered him a friend and guest.

Iswaran also viewed the trip as an opportunity for both of them to learn how a city like Doha staged a world event, said Mr Singh.

On the whisky and wine Iswaran obtained from Mr Lum, Mr Singh said Iswaran had asked Mr Lum for his regular supplier so he could buy the alcohol himself, but Mr Lum gifted it to him along with a batch of red wine.

The Brompton bicycle Mr Lum gave Iswaran was given to him on the ex-minister’s 60th birthday as a gift, said the lawyer.

Some of the F1 tickets Iswaran received were complimentary and never meant for sale in the first place, with no loss suffered by Singapore GP or Mr Ong, Mr Singh argued.

He also distributed the tickets to grassroots volunteers and a charity his wife was involved in, said Mr Singh.

The penalties for obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant are a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.

For obstructing justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.