by A Malaysian hotel magnate who helped bring Formula 1 to Singapore pleaded guilty on Monday to encourage the obstruction of justice, in a rare case of corruption in the city-state who saw a former Minister of Transport imprisoned last year.
The billionaire based in Singapore, NGO Beng Seng, 79, was charged in October from last year to have helped the former Minister of Transport S. Iswaran to cover evidence in a transplant survey.
He was also accused of taking an Iswaran shower with sumptuous gifts, including tickets for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Singapore 2017, flights to a private jet, business class trips and a luxury hotel stay while Iswaran was working on its official quality.
NGO pleaded guilty of its plea from a quay embedded in a district court in downtown Singapore on Monday.
The prosecutors asked for a sentence of two months in prison after NGO agreed to plead guilty. He will be sentenced on August 15.
But the prosecutors also agreed with the defense lawyers that the court could show “judicial mercy” – which could reduce any penalty.
Defense lawyers pleaded for leniency, saying that their septuagenarian client suffered from a litany of serious illnesses, including an incurable form of cancer.
They asked for a “steep fine” instead of the real prison.
“The risks of the life of Mr. NGO increase considerably in prison,” said lawyer Cavinder Bull in court, saying that the prison could not give enough care to his client.
“This man lives on the edge,” added Bull.
The NGO trial born in Malaysia drew significant media attention because of its links with Iswaran and the reputation of the city of the wealthy city as one of the least corrupt nations in the world.
NGO has Hotel Properties Limited, based in Singapore, and is the holder of Formula 1 race rights of the Singapore Grand Prix.
He and Iswaran played a decisive role in the race for one night formula on a street circuit in Singapore in 2008.
In July 2023, NGO was arrested as part of a transplant probe involving Iswaran and was then released on bail.
In October of last year, Iswaran was imprisoned for 12 months after pleading guilty of having accepted illegal gifts worth more than $ 400,000 SG ($ 310,000).
He was also found guilty of obstruction of justice, during the first political transplant trial of the city of the city in almost half a century.
Iswaran finished serving his sentence on June 6.
MBA / JHE / JFX
