SINGAPORE - Former transport minister S. Iswaran has been placed on home detention scheme on Feb 7.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for Singapore Prison Service said: “Iswaran is eligible for the home detention scheme. He has been assessed suitable for emplacement on the scheme, as he is of low risk of re-offending, did not commit any institutional offence in prison, and has strong family support.”

SPS said eligible prisoners are considered for emplacement on the home detention scheme when they have served at least 14 days or half of their sentence after remission, whichever is later.

“They are assessed for their suitability for the home detention scheme taking into consideration various factors such as their conduct, and progress and response to rehabilitation, during incarceration,” the spokesman added.

“Like all inmates emplaced on the Home Detention Scheme, Iswaran will serve his remaining sentence at his residence under specified conditions, which include curfew monitoring using an electronic monitoring tag, being gainfully occupied either in work, study or training, and reporting to SPS for counselling.”

On Oct 3, Iswaran was handed a 12 months’ jail term in a case that saw, for the first time, a former Cabinet minister being sentenced.

The punishment was almost double the six to seven months’ jail the prosecution had sought.

He had pleaded guilty to five charges on Sept 24, on what was to be the first day of a highly anticipated trial in which he aimed to clear his name.

The charges he admitted to comprise four charges of obtaining valuable items as a public servant from Ong Beng Seng, chairman of Formula One race promoter Singapore GP, and Mr David Lum Kok Seng, managing director of construction company Lum Chang Holdings.

The fifth charge was for obstructing the course of justice by making payment of $5,700 for a business-class flight he had taken from Doha to Singapore in 2022 at Ong&rsqu...