A former senior minister in Singapore’s authorities, who was jailed following a high-profile trial final yr, has been allowed to serve the rest of his 12-month sentence from dwelling.
Subramaniam Iswaran was imprisoned on 7 October after he pleaded responsible to accepting presents price greater than S$403,000 ($300,000; £240,000) whereas in workplace, in addition to obstructing the course of justice.
Iswaran’s case gripped Singapore, the place a corruption case involving a public official is uncommon. The island nation that serves as South East Asia’s monetary hub prides itself with its squeaky clear picture.
He was transferred to dwelling arrest on Friday, the Singapore Jail Service (SPS) informed native media.
In Singapore, inmates could also be transferred to dwelling detention after being assessed on components similar to their conduct in jail and response to rehabilitation.
Authorities mentioned Iswaran was discovered to be “of low danger of re-offending, didn’t commit any institutional offence in jail, and has robust household assist”.
Whereas in dwelling detention he will probably be required to put on an digital monitoring tag and report back to jail authorities for counselling.
Native broadcaster Channel Information Asia reported seeing Iswaran having a meal in his dwelling on Friday.
Iswaran’s 12-month jail sentence was longer than what each his defence crew and prosecutors sought throughout his trial.
Throughout his sentencing in October, the choose mentioned that public officers like Iswaran also needs to be seen as having “larger culpability in abusing their place to acquire invaluable presents”.
Iswaran is the primary political office-holder in Singapore to be tried in court docket prior to now 50 years.
The final time a minister confronted a corruption probe was in 1986, when improvement minister Teh Cheang Wan was investigated for accepting bribes. He killed himself earlier than he was charged.