Singapore's jailed ex-transport minister to undergo house arrest

Summary

• Singapore's former transport minister S Iswaran, who was jailed for 12 months for corruption, will undergo home detention for his remaining jail time.

• The Singapore Prison Service says he is eligible as he has fulfilled the criteria, is at low risk of re-offending, was a good inmate, and has strong family support.

• In Malaysia, there are concerted efforts to lobby for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to serve his remaining jail time under house arrest.

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Singapore’s former transport minister S Iswaran, who was jailed for 12 months for corruption, has been placed under home detention.

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) said Iswaran (above) would be placed under curfew and monitored via an electronic device, Channel News Asia reported.

“... S Iswaran will serve his remaining sentence at his residence under specified conditions, which include curfew monitoring using an electronic monitoring tag, being gainfully occupied either in work, study or training and reporting to SPS for counselling,” the SPS reportedly said.

Under Singaporean law, a prisoner who displays good conduct and has served two-thirds or 14 days (whichever ends later) of their jail sentence is eligible for remission.

An inmate can also be placed under home detention for no more than 12 months if they were serving a sentence of more than four weeks and had served at least 14 days of it.

Elaborating, the SPS said Iswaran was deemed eligible for home detention as he was at low risk of re-offending, did not commit institutional offences while in prison, and has strong family support.

On Sept 24, 2024, Iswaran pleaded guilty to accepting valuables worth S$403,300 (RM1.3 million) over seven years from individuals whom he had dealings with in his official capacity as transport minister.

These include tickets to musicals, Formula 1 events and football matches, alcohol, and a bicycle made by Brompton - the UK’s largest bike manufacturing company.

Najib’s bid

Over the causeway in Malaysia, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his supporters are lobbying for the former to undergo home detention to serve the remainder of his jail sentence in the SRC International case.

Najib was initially sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million after being convicted of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and abuse of power involving RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

His punishment was slashed by the Pardons Board in January 2024 to six years imprisonment and RM50 million in fines.

The efforts picked up steam after it was revealed that the previous Agong, Pahang ruler Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, had issued an addendum order along with the commutation that decreed Najib to serve his remaining jail time under house arrest.

The government initially neither denied nor confirmed the addendum’s existence.

However, the Pahang Palace confirmed its existence in the Court of Appeal as part of Najib’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to deny him leave to compel the government to enforce the addendum.

Later, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had received the addendum and forwarded it to the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, for a decision.

The AGC has since applied for a blanket gag order at the High Court on the issue.

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