SINGAPORE — Malaysian property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, 79, was today fined the maximum S$30,000 (about RM105,000) and spared jail after pleading guilty to abetting obstruction of justice in a case linked to former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran.

Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said she agreed with both prosecution and defence that “judicial mercy is warranted” given Ong’s multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, The Straits Times reported.

“I therefore agree with defence and prosecution that exercise of judicial mercy is warranted, and I impose a fine of $30,000 rather than jail,” she was quoted saying in her judgment.

Ong, who is undergoing chemotherapy, would have faced up to seven years’ jail, a fine, or both for the offence. 

Without the health concerns, Lee was reported saying she would have imposed a three-month jail sentence.

Ong pled guilty on August 4 to helping Iswaran pay S$5,700 for a flight ticket from Doha to Singapore in December 2022 only after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau discovered the trip while probing another case.

According to The Straits Times report, a second charge – for instigating Iswaran to accept flights and a hotel stay despite having business dealings with the minister’s role – was taken into consideration.

Ong, best known for bringing Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008, is majority shareholder of Singapore GP. 

The Singapore newspaper reported that shares of his Hotel Properties Limited rebounded to S$5.49 after this afternoon’s verdict.