PROPERTY tycoon Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty today to abetment of obstruction of justice in a case related to former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran by helping him pay S$5,700 for a flight ticket from Doha to Singapore.
The payment was made months after the flight itself and only after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) discovered Iswaran's name on the manifest for his outbound flight to Doha when investigating a separate case.
Appearing in the court dock wearing a mask with a scarf around his neck, Ong, 79, admitted to abetting the obstruction of justice relating to the December 2022 trip to Qatar which Iswaran accepted Ong’s invitation for.
Ong, 79, also had a second charge taken into consideration, for instigating Iswaran to obtain flights and a hotel stay from him despite knowing he had business dealings with the minister’s official role.
The Malaysian businessman’s guilty plea comes around a month after Iswaran was released on remission following a 12-month jail sentence and completion of home detention.
The prosecution had, in court, noted that the defence asked that the court impose a fine on Ong on the grounds of judicial mercy.
Judicial mercy is when the courts give leniency in the sentencing of offenders with exceptional personal circumstances. It has been exercised in cases where an offender has terminal illness, or dire medical conditions that endanger their life if they were to be imprisoned.
Ong suffers from multiple myeloma, a rare type of bone marrow cancer.
Ong, who helped bring Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008, was first charged in October 2024 with two offences that matched those Iswaran later pleaded guilty to.
Iswaran was sentenced in October to four months’ jail for obstructing justice, as part of a 12-month term covering five charges, with another 30 taken into consideration.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said after Iswaran’s sentencing that Ong would not face charges related to the other matters involving Iswaran. – August 4, 2025
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