SINGAPORE – Singapore’s anti-graft company has launched an investigation right into a case involving the city-state’s transport minister, a uncommon high-level probe in a rustic that prides itself on a authorities free from corruption.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau stated it was interviewing the minister, S Iswaran, who was “assisting” in a case, however didn’t present additional particulars.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday stated he had “instructed Minister Iswaran to take leave of absence until these investigations are completed”.
The corruption bureau started investigations on July 11, he added in an announcement launched by his workplace.
Iswaran didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ request for remark. The 61-year-old joined Lee’s cupboard as a junior minister in 2006 and held the commerce and communications portfolios earlier than turning into transport minister in May 2021.
Graft investigations involving ministers are uncommon in Singapore, the place civil servants are paid handsomely to discourage corruption. Many cupboard ministers’ annual salaries exceed S$1 million (practically $750,000).
In May, Lee ordered an investigation into the circumstances round two heavyweight ministers’ rental of state-owned houses. They had been cleared of wrongdoing in June. ($1 = 1.3384 Singapore {dollars}) — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
