Although former transport minister S Iswaran allegedly received gifts that included, among other things, tickets to F1 races, football matches, and West End musicals, for which he shall be on trial tomorrow, they did no include invitations to fashion shows, something one of his two friends linked to the case could have provided

It has been described as a “high-profile case”. Former transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran—known to most Singaporeans as S Iswaran—will be in court tomorrow to face 35 charges, of which most are linked to allegations that, while in public service, he had received “items” from two businessmen worth more than S$403,000. Mr Iswaran has said he is innocent and has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including those of corruption. The alleged offences were apparently committed between November 2021 and November 2022, and was connected to Mr Iswaran in his capacity as the minister for transport (he stepped down from his post in January this year). The scandal has made international headlines, with Reuters reporting that it is “a case that has gripped Singapore”. People were taken aback when it was revealed in July last year that Mr Iswaran would be “assisting” the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the investigation into a case that the agency was probing keenly.

Among the items the 62-year-old, who was arrested in July last year, is accused of accepting, most are related to what could be considered entertainment. Charge sheets that itemised the favours reveal tickets to F1 races, football matches, as well as musicals and plays. The performances mentioned, according to The Business Times, include the musical Thriller—Live, which celebrates the music of the Jackson Five and the solo career of Michael Jackson (reported to be worth about £200 [or S$429]), the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the Mark Haddon novel (worth about £270 [S$580]), the musical comedy The Book of Mormon (worth about £540 [or S$975]), the two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (worth about £1,000 [S$1,805]), another musical Kinky Boots (worth about £300 [S$541]), the performance The Play That Goes Wrong (worth about £380 [S$659]), the musical School of Rock (worth about £560 [S$971]) , the musical Hamilton (worth about £400 [S$690]), the Harold Pinter play Betrayal (worth about £1,080 [S$1,865]), the musical Back to the Future, adapted from the 1985 movie (worth about £449 [S$814]), and another musical & Juliet (worth about £250 [S$453.50]).

Among the items the 62-year-old, who was arrested in July last year, is accused of accepting, most are related to what could be considered entertainment

There are 11 staged performances in total, and the tickets Mr Iswaran received are said to be from one of the two businessmen mentioned in the case, Ong Beng Seng (who is not charged), offered through his company Como Holdings (UK) Ltd. According to the Como Group website, Como Holdings (UK) Ltd is one of their five affiliates in the United Kingdom. In Singapore, Como Pte Ltd, also under the Como Group, operates the Club 21 stores here, as well as Dover Street Market Singapore. It is, therefore, rather interesting that tickets to fashion shows in London, such as those by Erdem, Craig Green, JW Anderson, Molly Goddard, and Simone Rocha, brands that are distributed by Como Pte Ltd in our market, are ostensibly not part of the “valuable things”, as CPIB described them, offered to Mr Iswaran.

Como Group breaks down their many businesses largely into four groups: fashion, food and dining, hotels and resorts, and wellness. Club 21, as a major retailer in many cities in Asia (they have significant presence in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, just to name two cities) likely receives invitations to the key shows of the four major fashion weeks. Fashion shows are, of course, generally not ticketed items (at least not among the major brands that stage much hankered for shows) and the invites are hard to score and mostly given—not sold—to fashion folks and the celebrities who dominate the front row. Mr Iswaran, who would not be out of place upfront, clearly enjoys a good performance, and there are few other performative productions more entertaining—and with more music—than fashion shows.

S Iswaran. Illustration: Just So

Update (24 September 2024, 5pm): In a surprising turn of events, S Iswaran pleaded guilty in court today to accepting gifts while holding office as a public servant. And also for obstructing justice. The former transport minister had earlier rejected all the allegations. In a statement that was shared on his Facebook page in January, after resigning from his ministerial post, he wrote: “I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name”. He has maintained the position until his day in court. As it has been report in the media, after the charges were read to him and he was asked how he intended to plead, he simply said: “Your honour, I plead guilty.”

Mr Iswaran’s guilty plea is also not expected on just the first day of his scheduled trial. Just as unforseen was the reduced charges. According to media reports, the charges are now a set of five: one count of obstructing justice and four for accepting “valuable things” from persons whom he was involved with as a public servant. According to his defence team, Mr Iswaran was unaware that receiving those gift could be thought as “veiled gratification”. But the Deputy Attorney-General contended that the former minister was “more than a passive acceptor of gifts”. Thirty other charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, which is scheduled for 3 October. When he left the courthouse, Mr Iswaran told the waiting reporters: “As you know, my lawyers have stated the position clearly, and as you’re well aware, the matter is now sub judice so it’s not appropriate for me to say anything more.”

Update (3 October 2024, noon): S Iswaran was sentenced by the High Court to 12 months in jail, following the former minister’s pleading guilty to five charges that included four for obtaining items of valuable from individuals with whom he had dealings with officially, as well as one for obstruction of justice.

Illustrations: Just So