Singapore’s former Transport Minister, S. Iswaran, who was convicted of obstructing justice and accepting over $300,000 in gifts, will serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, the Singapore Prisons Service announced Friday.
Iswaran, who became the first former cabinet minister in Singapore to be jailed, was sentenced to one year in prison following a high-profile corruption trial that drew significant public attention in the city-state, known for its zero-tolerance stance on corruption.
According to prison officials, Iswaran will complete the remaining eight months of his sentence at home under strict supervision, which includes:
- Curfew monitoring
- Mandatory counselling
- Electronic tagging
The prisons service justified his transfer to home detention based on:
- His low risk of reoffending
- Good conduct in prison
- Strong family support
“He has been assessed suitable for emplacement on the scheme, as he is of low risk of reoffending, did not commit any institutional offence in prison, and has strong family support,” the Singapore Prisons Service stated.
Under Singapore’s regulations, prisoners serving more than four weeks may be considered for home detention after completing at least 14 days behind bars.
Iswaran, who served in Singapore’s cabinet for 13 years with key roles in trade, communications, and transport, pleaded guilty last year to:
- Four counts of improperly receiving gifts
- One count of obstructing justice
While his fall from grace has been one of the most significant corruption cases in Singapore’s political history, his eligibility for early release under home detention underscores the city-state’s structured approach to rehabilitation.
