Ong Beng Seng set to plead guity on April 2

SINGAPORE: Following a pre-trial conference on Friday (Feb 28), Ong Beng Seng is set to plead guilty to the charges made against him in relation to the scandal involving former Transport Minister S Iswaran, a CNA report said.

The 79-year-old billionaire hotelier is set to plead guilty on April 2.  This decision was seen in an update on the court’s case management system, CNA further reported. His S$800,000 bail has also been extended.

On October 4, 2024, he was charged with abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and with abetting the obstruction of justice, under Section 165 and Section 204A of the Penal Code. He could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both jailed and fined. If convicted of obstructing justice, he could be jailed for as long as seven years, fined, or both.

Ong, the founder of Hotel Properties Limited, was arrested in 2023 in connection with the charges against the former Transport Minister, who was charged on multiple counts after receiving gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from two businessmen, including Ong.

Earlier this month, Ong was reported to have been diagnosed with cancer. Sources close to the property tycoon said he has multiple myeloma, a rare cancer that develops in the plasma cells of a person’s bone marrow. He has been undergoing chemotherapy for the illness.

On October 30, 2024, he was allowed to take a 10-day trip to the United States and Europe for business and medical reasons. He paid $800,000 in cash bail on top of the $800,000 in bail he had previously paid, forking out a total of S$1.6 million. His lawyer, Aaron Lee from Allen & Gledhill, said that Ong would head to Boston, Massachusetts, for medical treatment.

Ong, who was born in Malaysia but is based in Singapore, made his fortune as a hotelier and is the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited. As of late 2022, he and his wife, Christina Ong, had an estimated net worth of $1.75 billion and were listed as the 24th richest people in Singapore.

He brought F1 to Singapore, launching the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. Being a friend of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Ong helped seal the deal in 2007 that brought the race to Singapore. An article from Reuters in March 2007 reported that Mr Ong had met with Bernie Ecclestone, the former chief executive of Formula One Group, that year to discuss the event launch in Singapore. /TISG

Read also: Iswaran no longer at Changi Prison, now under house arrest