Singapore’s clean reputation gets a timely test

Hotel Properties

18/07/2023 03:07

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Anshuman Daga
       SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Officials
arrested a cabinet minister and a prominent hotel tycoon without
saying why. Corruption cases are rare in Singapore. But as the
hub becomes a favourite destination for the rich, the
investigation is a useful opportunity to burnish its reputation
for tough enforcement.
   
    Full view will be published shortly.
    Follow @anshumandaga on Twitter
         
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    Singapore’s anti-graft body said on July 14 that the
country’s transport minister and a property tycoon had both been
arrested and subsequently released on bail. It did not give
details of the rare high-level probe. 
    S. Iswaran and businessman Ong Beng Seng were arrested on
July 11 and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau said. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said
on July 12 that it had instructed Iswaran to take leave of
absence until the investigations were completed.
    Ong is the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd, a $1.5
billion Singapore-listed company, a group that owns hotels and
resorts in 15 countries. The hotel owner and operator has
interests in 38 hotels under brands including Four Seasons,
COMO, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses and Marriott
International, per HPL’s website. 

 (Editing by Una Galani and Thomas Shum)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  DAGA/ 
SIGN UP FOR BREAKINGVIEWS EMAIL ALERTS https://bit.ly/BVsubscribe
 | anshuman.daga@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
anshuman.daga.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))