SINGAPORE - Former transport minister S. Iswaran, who faces criminal charges involving more than $400,000 worth of items, succeeded in his High Court bid for a joint trial of the two sets of charges that he faces, following a full-day hearing.

His lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, had argued that Iswaran’s state of mind was the same for both sets of charges.

“He was dealing with very, very dear and close friends,” said Mr Singh, adding that his client did not suspect that the gifts were offered as “veiled gratification”.

Iswaran currently faces 27 charges relating to hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, and eight charges relating to Mr David Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of mainboard-listed Lum Chang Holdings.

On May 8, Mr Singh questioned the prosecution’s decision to have separate trials, and for pushing back the charges involving Mr Ong, when trial dates had initially been fixed for this set of charges.

The trial dates are currently slated for August and September 2024.

Mr Singh said that both sets of charges should be heard together because they share similar features.

Arguing before Justice Vincent Hoong, Mr Singh said: “My client is saying, come at me with both sets, please, I am ready to take you on.”

The prosecution, represented by Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong, had wanted the charges in relation to Mr Lum to be tried first, followed by the charges in relation to Mr Ong.

Of the charges relating to Mr Ong, 24 are under Section 165 of the Penal Code, two are for corruption and one for obstructing the course of justice.

Section 165 makes it an offence for a public servant to accept or obtain any valuable thing, for free or for inadequate payment, from any person connected with his official duties.

Iswaran was first handed 27 charges on Jan 18, involving items with a total value of $384,340.98 he allegedly obtained from Mr Ong.

On March 25, he was handed eight more charges under Section 165.

This second set of charges relates to items with a total value of $18,956.94 that Iswaran allegedly obtained from Mr Lum.

Mr Singh noted that this would be the first time that the Singapore courts are dealing with Section 165 offences.

Mr Singh added that the code of conduct for ministers was also operating on Iswaran’s mind.

Under the code, ministers or their family members are not prevented from accepting gifts from family or personal friends “in a genuinely personal capacity”.  

He said the defence will be contending that Section 165 does not “catch” cases where gifts are given because of friendship.

Mr Singh also argued that with separate trials, Iswaran would have to live with a potentially long period of stress after the end of the trial involving the charges relating to Mr Lum, until the conclusion of the trial of the charges relating to Mr Ong.

The lawyer suggested that the prosecution wanted the charges involving Mr Lum to go first, so that it can get an idea of his defence for the charges involving Mr Ong.

Deputy Attorney-General Tai refuted Mr Singh’s suggestion that the reason for having two trials was so that the prosecution can have a “preview” of Iswaran’s defence.

Mr Tai argued that the charges must be split because the legal criteria for a joint trial have not been met. He said that consecutive trials take place all the time and that it is common practice for the prosecution to proceed on some charges at trial.

He argued that there was no factual connection between the two sets of charges, which are independent of each other and involve separate dealings.

The charges involving Mr Lum related to acceptance of items such as whisky and wine, while the charges involving Mr Ong related to entirely different items, he said.

Moreover, one set of charges related to a construction contract between Lum Chang and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), while the other set was largely in the context of Formula One (F1) contracts between race promoter Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board.  

“Not only are the facts in issue for the Ong Beng Seng charges entirely irrelevant for the David Lum charges, the background facts and witnesses of fact for the two sets of charges are distinct,” he said in written submissions. 

After considering the arguments, Justice Hoong allowed Iswaran’s application for a joint trial.

He said in written judgment that the applicant raised reasonable concerns, including the time, expense and pressure in defending two separate trials, whether the two trials proceed concurrently or sequentially.

The judge said the Section 165 charges for both Mr Ong and Mr Lum are legally identical, and allegedly arose out of Iswaran’s duties as a public servant.

The fact that the charges concern different givers, different items and different witnesses does not indicate that they are factually dissimilar, said Justice Hoong.

The judge said the legal requirement for the charges to be “a series of offences of the same or a similar character” was satisfied.

When approached by reporters after the hearing, Iswaran said: “Thank you for coming, everyone. Sorry, it’s been a very long day.”

He declined to comment on the outcome of his application.

The charges involving Mr Ong include 24 counts of Iswaran allegedly obtaining items with a total value of $218,058.95 from him between November 2015 and December 2021. These items include tickets to the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, as well as to football matches and musical shows in Britain.

Mr Ong, who is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP, is credited with bringing the F1 race to Singapore.

The first set of charges also includes two counts of corruption for allegedly obtaining bribes amounting to $166,282.03 from Mr Ong, as inducement for advancing the billionaire’s business interests in relation to agreements between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board.

Aside from Singapore F1 Grand Prix tickets, the alleged bribes include a flight on Mr Ong’s private plane.

A charge of obstructing the course of justice rounded off the first set of charges.

After he was charged, he issued a statement saying that he was innocent, adding that he will focus on clearing his name. Iswaran also resigned from the People’s Action Party and stepped down as transport minister and West Coast GRC MP.

The second set of charges relates to items with a total value of $18,956.94 that Iswaran allegedly obtained from Mr Lum. Lum Chang Holdings is a property management, interior design and construction company.

The items include bottles of whisky, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle that cost $7,907.50.

They were allegedly obtained between November 2021 and November 2022, when Lum Chang’s subsidiary, Lum Chang Building Contractors, had a contract with the LTA for “addition and alteration works to existing Tanah Merah station and existing viaducts”.

LTA has said that it had not awarded any contract to Lum Chang Building Contractors since 2019.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has said it will take a decision in respect of the investigations against Mr Ong and Mr Lum after the case against Iswaran has been completed.

• Additional reporting by Andrew Wong