Corruption convictions are rare in Singapore.
On Thursday, Singapore’s court sentenced the country’s former transport minister, 62 years old By Subramaniam Iswaran for one year in prison for corruption crimes, local media reported.
Iswarani was suspected on 35 charges, but was convicted on only five.
According to the court, Iswaran accepted bribes for around 300,000 euros, AFP reports.
This is the country’s first sentence against a minister in over forty years.
The last time Singapore convicted a minister for corruption was in 1975. At that time, he served as the country’s defense minister Wee Toon Boon was convicted of accepting bribes.
Iswaran’s sentence is also exceptional because the salaries of Singapore’s ministers are among the best in the world.
For example, the Prime Minister of Singapore By Lawrence Wong the annual salary in 2023 was more than 1.5 million euros, Forbes you can tell from the listing.
The prosecutor sought a prison sentence of at least half a year for Iswaran, reported The Straits Times.
Sources: AP, AFP