SINGAPORE: Former Transport Minister S Iswaran reiterated his innocence and rejected all allegations against him, hours after he was charged in court with multiple offences, including corruption and obtaining valuables as a public servant.
“I am innocent and will now focus on clearing my name,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Jan 18).
He said he submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday “even without being asked to do so”.
“I resigned as Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament and as a member of the People’s Action Party because I believe it was the right thing to do.”
“Further, I informed the Prime Minister on (Wednesday) that, even though I am innocent, I will be returning all monies that I received by way of salary as Minister and allowances as Member of Parliament from the commencement of CPIB’s
investigations in July 2023.”
The ex-minister, whose political career spanned nearly 30 years, said he and his family decided to return the monies because they believed it was the right thing to do. He had been drawing a reduced monthly salary of S$8,500 and a full MP annual allowance of of S$192,500.
Echoing what he said to Mr Lee in his resignation letter, Iswaran said he and his family could not in good conscience keep the monies as he was unable to discharge is duties as minister and MP during that period on account of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s investigation.