Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng’s permanent resident status in Singapore will not be revoked despite his conviction and sentencing for abetting the obstruction of justice in a case linked to a former minister.
Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said Ong has been issued a letter of warning to put him on notice that “any future adverse conduct will render him liable for revocation of his PR status, The Straits Times reported.
In August, the ICA stated that all Singapore permanent residents who have been convicted of an offence will have their PR status reviewed.
Ong was fined S$30,000 on Aug 15 after he pleaded guilty to one charge of abetting the obstruction of justice in a case linked to former transport minister S Iswaran.
He had also admitted to arranging to bill Iswaran belatedly for S$5,700 for a business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore.
In September, Singaporean MP Dennis Tan filed a parliamentary question asking under what circumstances PR and work pass holders would have their PR status or work pass revoked when they commit a criminal offence in Singapore.
In response, K Shanmugam, coordinating minister for national security in Singapore, stated that foreigners who break Singapore’s laws or engage in undesirable conduct may have their passes or permits cancelled and be prohibited from re-entry into the country.
“There is a framework to assess such cases based on the facts, the nature and severity of the incident, the person’s family roots here, and the contributions of the person to Singapore,” he said.
Ong is the founder of Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited, which is a shareholder of various businesses, including Hard Rock resorts and Four Seasons resorts across Europe and Asia.
