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Reflections | Corrupt officials nothing new, but first recorded one in China received an unusual bribe
Yangshe Fu, Chinese history’s first recorded corrupt official, was killed after accepting a nobleman’s daughter as a bribe in a court case
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This month, a High Court judge in Singapore sentenced the country’s former minister of transport, S. Iswaran, to 12 months in jail for accepting gifts worth S$403,300 (US$309,000) from two businessmen and obstructing justice.
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The sentence is significantly higher than the six to seven months sought by the prosecution. Iswaran’s defence lawyers, meanwhile, had asked for no more than eight weeks in prison.
The court is sending an unequivocal message that Singapore will not tolerate corruption in any shape or form among its holders of public office.
The spectacular downfall of Iswaran, a former cabinet minister and ex-member of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), could hurt the party’s performance in the next general elections, which must be held by November 2025.
This is because, despite the relatively small sum involved for such a case, the PAP has always vaunted its whiter-than-white image and its leadership’s ability to identify and recruit honest people into its ranks.
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