But prosecutors also agreed with defence lawyers that the court could exercise “judicial mercy” in view of Ong’s poor health – which could further reduce any sentence.
Defence lawyers pleaded for clemency, saying their septuagenarian client suffered from a litany of serious ailments, including an incurable form of cancer.
They asked for a “stiff fine” instead of actual jail time.
“The risks to Mr Ong’s life increase dramatically in prison,” lawyer Cavinder Bull told the court, saying prison could not give his client sufficient care.
“This man is living on the edge,” Bull added.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said in a statement that after “considering the medical evidence before the court”, the prosecutors did not object to imposing a fine instead of jail time.
The trial of Malaysia-born Ong had attracted significant media attention because of his links with Iswaran and the affluent city-state’s reputation as one of the world’s least corrupt nations.
Ong owns Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited and is the rights holder to the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race.
He and Iswaran were instrumental in bringing the Formula One night race on a street circuit to Singapore in 2008.
In July 2023, Ong was arrested as part of a graft probe involving Iswaran and was subsequently released on bail.
In October last year, Iswaran was jailed for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts worth more than S$400,000 ($525,000).
He was also found guilty of obstructing justice, in the city-state’s first political graft trial in nearly half a century.
Iswaran completed his sentence on June 6.
- Agence France-Presse
