FORMER Transport Minister S Iswaran’s upcoming graft trial has been adjourned to Sep 24, on request from both the prosecution and the defence, said the Attorney-General’s Chambers in a statement on Thursday (Sep 5).
The trial was expected to proceed on Sep 10, with the first tranche of dates to end on Sep 13.
Iswaran stands accused of obtaining more than S$403,000 worth of items during his time as a public servant. The 62-year-old faces a total of 35 charges, including two counts of corruption.
The charges relate to his dealings with billionaire hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, as well as David Lum, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings.
What the case is about
The 35 charges Iswaran is facing relate to his dealings with billionaire hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, and with the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings, David Lum.
The former minister was initially slapped with 27 charges relating to his dealings with Ong in January; he was handed a fresh set of eight charges relating to his dealings with Lum on Mar 25.
In May, the High Court granted Iswaran’s application to have a single trial for all criminal charges against him, in contrast to the prosecution’s call for separate trials for his dealings with the two businessmen.
Earlier this week, the former minister failed in his third bid to obtain witness statements from the prosecution after the Court of Appeal refused to weigh in on whether the prosecution should produce witness statements for the upcoming graft trial.
His first attempt at getting the prosecution to produce witness statements was denied by assistant registrar Janice Wong. His lawyers made a second request, which was denied by Justice Vincent Hoong in a hearing in July.
