The defence and prosecution have argued for a fine given the potential impact of a jail sentence on the tycoon, who has an incurable cancer
Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based billionaire hotelier and architect of the city state’s Formula One Grand Prix, was fined S$30,000 (US$23,400) on Friday over a charge of abetting former transport minister S. Iswaran in a gifts scandal.
Ong, a 79-year-old Malaysian national, earlier this month pleaded guilty to the charge of abetting Iswaran in obstructing justice, admitting to relaying sensitive information about an ongoing anti-corruption investigation to the then minister.
The case has riveted Singapore, a nation that consistently tops global anti-corruption rankings and prides itself on the probity of its public officials, who are among the world’s best paid.
On Friday, Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng found that judicial mercy applied in this case and sentenced Ong, who wore a mask to court, to the maximum fine that the state courts can impose.
