Less than a week after news of the CPIB probe involving Mr Iswaran broke, former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin – who had recently apologised for using “unparliamentary language” – and MP Cheng Li Hui resigned from parliament and the PAP after it was revealed the pair had an affair.
Answering questions on the matter, Mr Lee said he was first alerted to the relationship between Mr Tan and Ms Cheng after the last General Election in 2020, and had spoken to the former about this relationship most recently in February.
Mr Tan admitted his mistake and offered his resignation at the time.
After their conversation in February, Mr Lee had accepted Mr Tan’s resignation, but told him “I needed to make sure the residents of Kembangan-Chai Chee and Marine Parade continued to be taken care of”.
But “very recently”, Mr Lee came across information that “strongly suggested” that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng’s relationship had continued, and he “decided then that Mr Tan had to go forthwith”.
Responding to a question from BBC about whether the government was “actually being upfront” about Mr Iswaran’s arrest and the extramarital affair between Mr Tan and Ms Cheng, Mr Wong said he understood why people have these questions.
On Mr Iswaran’s case, Mr Wong stressed again that the CPIB is an independent agency that has legal powers to conduct thorough investigations. “And it is up to them, their operational prerogative, what information to put up at every stage of the investigation.”
When Mr Lee and Mr Wong spoke on the issue when the news broke, the information was based on the CPIB statement at the time, the latter noted during the BBC interview.
“We did not want to go beyond what CPIB was prepared to say on that day,” said Mr Wong.
“There are operational considerations and it is up to CPIB to make that call. They decided not to say it at the start, but a few days later, they were prepared to reveal the fact that the Minister was arrested. After all, bear in mind, on this case, there was no public information about it.”
When asked about whether he understood the public’s frustration about having the right to know when the arrest was made, Mr Wong said that he did.
“But I hope the public also understands and respects operational considerations, and the autonomy and independence in which CPIB acts,” he continued.
“I believe Singaporeans have full trust in the work of the CPIB; that throughout our history, their track record is clear and evident for all to see. We have zero tolerance for corruption and CPIB acts independently, and are very thorough in their investigation.”