Singapore places Indian-origin convicted minister under 'home detention'

Singapore: Singapore’s former transport minister of Indian origin, S. Iswaran, who was jailed last October for 12 months on corruption charges, was placed in "home detention" on Friday, a news report said.

"Like all inmates placed on the Home Detention Scheme, S Iswaran will serve his remaining sentence at his residence under specified conditions, including curfew monitoring using an electronic monitoring tag, being gainfully occupied either in work, study or training and reporting to SPS for counselling," Channel News Asia quoted Singapore Prison Service (SPS) as saying.

Iswaran began his 12-month jail term on October 7, 2024.

Under the Prisons Act, inmates who display good conduct in prison are eligible for remission after serving two-thirds of their sentence or 14 days of their sentence, whichever ends later.

According to the Channel report, prisoners serving sentences of four weeks or more and serving at least 14 days of their sentence are also eligible to be released on the home detention scheme for a period not exceeding 12 months.

SPS said factors such as conduct, progress, and response to rehabilitation during prison time are taken into account when determining eligibility for home detention.

"(Iswaran) has been assessed suitable for emplacement on the scheme as he is of low risk of re-offending, did not commit any institutional offence in prison, and has strong family support," said the prison service.

"During home detention, inmates who have approved employment can leave the home during their working hours while inmates who are unemployed usually only have a few hours out of the home in the afternoons," Adrian Wee of Lighthouse Law LLC here told the Channel.

SPS added that last year, about 44 per cent of the inmates eligible for home detention were placed on the scheme.

Iswaran pleaded guilty on September 24, 202,4 to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids all public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity.

These were for obtaining valuables from Singapore GP majority shareholder Ong Beng Seng and construction boss Lum Kok Seng while he held portfolios that had official dealings with the two men.

Iswaran also pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing justice by belatedly repaying the cost of a flight to Doha.

Another 30 charges under Section 165 were taken into consideration.

Across all charges, he admitted to obtaining SGD 403,300 (USD 300,000) worth of valuables over seven years, including tickets to musicals, Formula 1 events, and football matches, as well as alcohol and a Brompton bicycle gifted to him for his 60th birthday.

He resigned from office in January 2024 and made a voluntary disgorgement of SGD 380,305.95. This refers to giving up illegally obtained gains.

Ong's case is pending before the courts while the Attorney-General's Chambers has said they will not file charges against Lum.