Singapore grants house arrest to jailed former transport minister

By Bing Hong Lok

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's disgraced former transport minister S. Iswaran, jailed last year for obstructing justice and receiving more than $300,000 of gifts, will serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, the prisons service said on Friday. 

Iswaran was the first former cabinet member to be jailed in Singapore after a high-profile trial that gripped the wealthy city state, which is famous for its clean governance.    

He will serve the remaining eight months of his one-year sentence at home under certain conditions, which include curfew monitoring, counselling and use of an electronic tag, the Singapore Prisons Service said in response to a query from Reuters. 

"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," it said.

Eligible prisoners are considered for home detention when they have served at least 14 days of a prison sentence longer than four weeks, it said.  

Iswaran was a cabinet member for 13 years and had held the trade, communications and transport portfolios. He pleaded guilty last year to four counts of improperly receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts, and one of obstructing justice. 

(Reporting by Bing Hong Lok; Editing by Martin Petty)