Singapore lawmakers reject move to suspend minister under probe

By Alfred Cang

(Bloomberg) — Lawmakers belonging to Singapore’s ruling party rejected a motion brought by the opposition to suspend Transport Minister S. Iswaran as a member of Parliament pending an ongoing corruption probe.

The motion brought by Progress Singapore Party’s Hazel Poa for Iswaran’s suspension as MP was defeated by a voice vote in parliament on Tuesday.

Iswaran, the first senior minister to be embroiled in a graft probe since 1986, was arrested in July and is out on bail. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has already barred Iswaran from duty with a reduced pay of S$8,500 per month, until further notice.

Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau are still ongoing, and charges are yet to be filed against either Iswaran or property billionaire Ong Beng Seng, who was also held in relation to the same probe and is out on bail.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.