Singapore court charges Hotel Properties owner with obstructing justice

08 Oct 2024 CW Team

A Singapore court charged a property billionaire with obstructing justice and abetting offenses related to flights and luxury hotel accommodations provided to a disgraced former transport minister, who had been jailed the previous day in a significant corruption case.

Ong Beng Seng, a 78-year-old owner of Hotel Properties and the rights holder for the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race, is accused of giving high-value gifts to former minister S Iswaran, who became the first former cabinet member to be imprisoned in Singapore.

The case has garnered considerable attention in Singapore, a prosperous financial center known for offering ministers salaries exceeding $1 million to prevent corruption, and for its reputation for clean governance.

Iswaran received a 12-month prison sentence for obstructing justice and improperly accepting gifts as a public servant, with Ong being a key figure in the prosecution's case. Ong, a Malaysian citizen residing in Singapore, has not yet commented on the allegations. According to Channel NewsAsia, he did not enter a plea on Friday and did not specify how he would respond to the charges.

Ong's company, Hotel Properties, which is listed in Singapore, requested a trading halt early on following the announcement of his impending charges.

During Iswaran's trial, prosecutors revealed that the former minister had received gifts valued at over $300,000, including tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the F1 Grand Prix, London musicals, and a private jet ride to Doha.

Ong faced one count of abetting Iswaran’s acceptance of two flights and luxury hotel accommodations in Doha valued at S$20,848.03, as well as one count of abetting Iswaran in obstructing justice, as stated by the attorney-general's chambers. These charges pertain to two of the 35 charges against Iswaran.

Infrastructure Transport

10 Jul 2026

Uttar Pradesh unveils infrastructure-led growth roadmap at RAHSTA

Mumbai, 9 July 2026: Uttar Pradesh’s ambitious infrastructure-led growth strategy took centre stage on Day 2 of the 16th RAHSTA Expo, where senior government officials outlined how expressways, industrial corridors and technology-driven governance are transforming the state into one of India's most attractive investment destinations.Delivering the keynote address, Srihari Pratap Shahi, IAS, Additional Chief Executive Officer, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), highlighted the state's long-term vision of integrating world-class expressways with industrial dev..

NCW closes PRIME Offices Fund at Rs 40 billion

Nuvama and Cushman & Wakefield Management (NCW) has announced the final close of its flagship PRIME Offices Fund at approximately Rs 40 billion, exceeding its original target of Rs 30 billion following strong investor demand.The fund was launched to provide Indian investors with access to institutional-grade commercial office assets across key office markets in the country. According to NCW, the increase in the fund size was supported by strong investor participation and the availability of investment opportunities in India's office sector.The fund has already committed around 45 per cent ..

Mayfair Housing adopts Autodesk Forma for digital project planning

Mayfair Housing has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with Autodesk to deploy Autodesk Forma, an AI-enabled cloud platform, as part of its digital transformation programme aimed at improving project planning and execution across its development and redevelopment portfolio.The platform will be integrated into the company's Building Information Modelling (BIM) workflow to support architects, planners and project teams during the early stages of design and development. Autodesk Forma combines real-world data, environmental simulations and collaborative workflows to facilitate data-d..