The Straits Times | Why Iswaran was handed a one-year jail sentence - video Dailymotion

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In a surprise decision, former Singaporean transport minister S. Iswaran was handed a one-year jail sentence on Oct 3. This exceeded the requests of both prosecution and defence, which Justice Vincent Hoong described as “manifestly inadequate”.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Former Transport Minister S Iswaran has been sentenced to 12 months' jail.

00:07Here's the breakdown of his sentence, according to his five charges.

00:13For obtaining 10 green room tickets to the 2017 Singapore F1 Grand Prix, 6 months' jail.

00:23For the flight to Doha on Singapore GP Chairman Ong Beng Seng's private plane,

00:28one-night stay in Four Seasons Hotel Doha and a business class return flight to Singapore,

00:343 months and 3 weeks' jail.

00:38For obstructing justice by paying $5,700 to Singapore GP to cover the cost of his business class flight ticket,

00:474 months' jail.

00:50For obtaining 14 bottles of whisky and wine from Mr David Lam Kok Seng,

00:55the Managing Director of mainboard-listed construction company Lam Chung Holdings, 2 months' jail.

01:04For obtaining a Brompton T-Line bicycle from Mr Lam, 3 months' jail.

01:11The sentences for the acceptance of the green room tickets,

01:14the 14 bottles of liquor and obstructing justice will run consecutively.

01:19This adds up to a total of 12 months.

01:22The remaining sentences will run concurrently.

01:31Iswaran's sentence exceeded the requests of both prosecution and defence,

01:36which Justice Vincent Hoong described as manifestly inadequate.

01:41Deputy Attorney General Tai Wei Shiong had asked for 6 to 7 months' jail,

01:46while Iswaran's lawyer, Mr Davinder Singh, had argued for no more than 8 weeks.

01:53Justice Hoong said that general deterrence, aimed at setting an example for others who commit offences,

01:59should be the primary consideration in his sentencing decision.

02:04The higher the office held by the offender as a public servant, the higher his level of culpability.

02:12Justice Hoong said he had considerable difficulty believing that Iswaran was remorseful,

02:17as he had made public statements rejecting the charges, saying they were false.

02:22Furthermore, Iswaran had acted with deliberation in obtaining gifts.

02:27Justice Hoong added that significant harm was caused to trust in the public office.

02:32Iswaran is due to surrender himself on October 7 at the state courts.

The Straits Times | Why Iswaran was handed a one-year jail sentence

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