SINGAPORE: Singapore's Transport Minister S. Iswaran has been charged in court over a graft case, local media reported on Thursday.
The city-state's anti-corruption bureau has been investigating Iswaran since his arrest in July last year, while Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has put him on a leave of absence and barred him from leaving Singapore.
Iswaran faces 27 charges, including obtaining gratification as a public servant, corruption and obstructing the course of justice, Channel NewsAsia reported, adding that Iswaran pleaded not guilty.
Local media footage showed Iswaran arriving at court on Thursday, flanked by his lawyers.
The case has gripped Singapore, a top Asian financial hub that prides itself on a government rarely affected by graft and scandals involving political leaders.
Civil servants in the city-state are highly paid to discourage corruption, with many cabinet ministers' annual salaries exceeding S$1 million ($744,490.77).
Iswaran, 61, joined Lee's cabinet as a junior minister in 2006 and held trade and communications portfolios before becoming transport minister in May 2021.
Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng was also arrested in July as part of the corruption probe.
The last corruption case involving a minister was in 1986 when the national development minister was probed for allegedly accepting bribes. The minister died before he could be charged in court.
Singapore is due to hold elections by 2025. While the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has maintained a grip on power since 1959, the corruption cases and other political scandals could weigh on voters, already bruised by high living costs.
In August, Lee admitted his party had taken a hit over the graft probe and the resignations of two senior PAP lawmakers on account of an "inappropriate relationship."
The party is also due for a leadership transition with Lee promising to hand the baton to his successor Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong by November.
Referring to Iswaran's case at a PAP event in November, Lee said the party must deal with the matter "without fear or favour."
"Show Singaporeans and the world that after half a century in government, the PAP's standards remain as high as ever," he added.