Iswaran’s trial to begin on Sep 10

SINGAPORE: The trial for former transport minister S Iswaran will begin on Sep 10, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) confirmed in a statement on Monday (Aug 12).
The first tranche of trial dates is now fixed for Sep 10 to Sep 13 this year.
An AGC spokesperson said the earlier set of trial dates, initially set to begin on Aug 13, “has been vacated on defence counsel’s request”.
However, lawyers for Iswaran from Davinder Singh Chambers sent a statement to the media refuting that the trial dates were vacated at his request.
Instead, the change was because Iswaran intends to appeal a High Court decision, where a judge in July tossed out his bid to compel the prosecution to hand over statements of all its witnesses. 
If permission is granted, the Court of Appeal will decide whether the prosecution has or does not have to produce witness statements before the trial, the lawyers said.
“As the matter concerns what the prosecution has or does not have to do before the trial starts, and because it was unlikely that the matter would be disposed of before the August dates, those dates had to be vacated.”
The AGC did not disagree to the vacation of the August trial dates, said Iswaran’s lawyers.
“The September dates were not vacated at Mr Iswaran’s request to keep and carry on with the trial on those dates,” they added.
Corruption cases are usually heard in the State Courts, but the prosecution had successfully applied in March for this case to be heard in the High Court.
The 62-year-old Singaporean faces a total of 35 charges comprising 32 counts of obtaining valuables as a public servant, two counts of corruption and one of obstructing justice.
These relate to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Mr Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings.
If convicted of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant, Iswaran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
If convicted of corruptly obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$100,000 (US$74,400), or both.
If convicted of obstructing justice, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.
Editor’s note: The article has been updated with information from S Iswaran’s lawyers.