Singapore's first ministerial corruption trial in nearly half a century has commenced, with former Transport Minister S. Iswaran at the center of the rare scandal. Iswaran, a former senior politician in the People’s Action Party, faced initial charges of graft, obstructing justice, and accepting gifts totaling 403,000 Singapore dollars. The prosecution later added more charges, bringing the total to 35, to which Iswaran maintained his not-guilty plea.
However, at the trial's outset, prosecutors decided to proceed with only five charges, including public servants obtaining valuable items and obstruction of justice. The remaining 30 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing, with no reasons provided for this decision.
