Trial of former transport minister Iswaran pushed back, now to start on Sept 10

The criminal trial of former transport minister S. Iswaran, which was originally slated to begin on Aug 13, has been pushed back to start in September instead.

On Aug 12, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said the first tranche of trial dates is now fixed for Sept 10 to 13.

Responding to media queries, a spokesperson for the AGC said the earlier set of trial dates has been vacated at the request of defence counsel.

Iswaran is represented by a team led by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh. 

In response to queries, the defence team said Iswaran is seeking a ruling from the Court of Appeal on whether the prosecution has to provide him with conditioned statements of the witnesses it has lined up for the trial.

The defence team said the August dates had to be vacated because it was unlikely that the matter regarding the statements would be concluded before those dates.

Iswaran’s bid for conditioned statements was first dismissed on June 11 by an assistant registrar, and then by a High Court judge on July 19.

A conditioned statement is a mode of giving evidence in a written statement, rather than oral testimony.

The prosecution had said that since it does not intend to rely on conditioned statements for Iswaran’s trial, none was recorded from the witnesses, and thus, none was provided to the defence.

In other words, the prosecution witnesses, who include Iswaran’s wife, Ms Kay Mary Taylor, will be put on the stand to give oral testimony.

Iswaran, 62, faces a total of 35 charges, two of which are for corruption involving about $166,000.

Another 32 counts are for obtaining items worth more than $237,000 as a public servant, while one is for obstructing the course of justice.

The charges relate to his dealings with hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, and mainboard-listed Lum Chang Holdings’ managing director David Lum.

Iswaran was first handed 27 charges on Jan 18, 2024.

He was accused of obtaining various items from Mr Ong, including tickets to the Singapore Formula One (F1) Grand Prix, and football matches and musical shows in Britain. Mr Ong, who is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP, is credited with bringing the F1 race to Singapore.

After he was charged, Iswaran issued a statement saying he was innocent, adding that he would focus on clearing his name.

It was also announced that he had submitted his resignation from the People’s Action Party and stepped down as transport minister and West Coast GRC MP on Jan 16, 2024.

During a court hearing on Feb 8, prosecutors said Iswaran’s trial will be heard in the High Court, citing strong public interest in the case.

The defence agreed, saying that Iswaran wanted an early trial so that the evidence can be fully aired, and the matter decided as soon as possible.

On March 25, he was handed eight more charges relating to items he had allegedly obtained from Mr Lum.

These include bottles of whisky, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle.

On May 8, Iswaran won a bid for both sets of charges to be heard in a single trial.

The prosecution had wanted the charges in relation to Mr Lum to be tried first, followed by the charges in relation to Mr Ong.

Iswaran then sought to compel the prosecution to provide conditioned statements of all 56 witnesses it has lined up for his trial.

In dismissing Iswaran’s bid for the statements, Justice Vincent Hoong said the prosecution had disclosed sufficient material to the defence.

These include 66 statements recorded from Iswaran, which totalled 1,156 pages, and numerous exhibits such as e-mails, messages, F1 complimentary request forms and other relevant documents.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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