Magno Ong Ben Seng pleads guilty to the corruption case

Singapore -based billionaire hotelier pleads Guilty on a charge of a rare corruption scandal that shocked the country last year.

Ong Beng Seng has admitted that he supports the obstruction of justice by helping former Transport Minister Submaniam Ishanaran to conceal evidence while he was investigated for corruption.

ONG was accused of giving expensive gifts, including Tickets for the Formula One Grand Prix and driving a private jet, to Ishanran while they are engaged in an official business.

Singapore ministers cannot keep gifts unless they pay the market value of the government’s gift and they have to declare everything they receive from people with whom they have a business relationship.

At the verdict of Iunaran last October, the court heard that Ishanaran asked the Ang to appoint him for a business class to Doha after discovering that he was investigated.

The judge said he acted with discussion and refinement to avoid the study.

On Monday, ONG found guilty on Monday for helping Ishanaran pay the Singapore Grand Prix for the flight to Singapore.

The judge said that the sentence of the ono would be held on August 15.

The ANT has been confronted with in prison for two years to enable a civil servant when receiving gifts, while the maximum prison period with which it is confronted with the subordination of obstruction of justice is seven years.

The 79-year-old is also accused of being promoted to Iwaran for receiving a paid trip to Doha, which is said to cost about $ 20,850 ($ 16,188; £ 12.194).

The two men were arrested in July 2023, and the fees revealed that Iswarap was endowed more than $ 43,000 ($ 311,882; 234,586 British pounds) flights, hotel stays, musicals and tickets for the Grand Prix.

During the crimes, Iswaran was in the Government Committee of F1 and the Chief Negotiator on F1 -related business issues.

Ong helped bring Grand Prix to F1 in Singapore, and his company Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) has brands such as Four Seasons and Marriott that work under it.

Singapore legislators are among the highest paid in the world, with leaders justifying beautiful salaries, saying they are fighting corruption.

Born in Malaysia in 1946, Ong moved to Singapore as a child and founded a company for hotels and real estate in the 1980s.

Ong has a rare bone marrow cancer and has previously allowed him to travel abroad for medical and working purposes.

Hotel Properties Limited earlier in April stated that Ong would withdraw as its managing director “managing its medical conditions”.