Malaysian hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng arrived in Singapore's state court on October 4, 2024.
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Tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who has resigned as managing director of hotel real estate, has been trapped in a court case related to a corruption scandal by former Singapore minister.
ONG, 79, is scheduled to plead guilty next week on charges related to the crimes of former transport minister S. Iswaran, who was convicted in October for violating a merchant’s gift.
Hotel Real Estate said earlier Monday that it “hopes to spend more time managing his medical condition.” According to regulatory documents, he will not serve as board director at the upcoming shareholders' meeting on April 29. The company's shares rose 4.7% in Singapore's interim trading.
In October, prosecutors accused ONG professor former transport minister S. Iswaran of two flights, accommodation in the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, and Formula One. Ong (the Singapore company is the organizer of Singapore Formula 1 night competition) has been released on bail. In addition to resolving court cases, ONG is currently fighting a rare type of bone marrow cancer.
Ong and his wife Christina are controlling shareholders of hotel real estate, with a portfolio of 38 hotels in 17 countries, including four seasons in Singapore. The couple also have an interest in London-listed handbag maker Mulberry. According to Singapore's 50 Richest List of Singapore, they are the richest in city-country Forbes September.
Born in Malaysia, ONG is one of the famous trading manufacturers in the city's country. In November, a hotel real estate acquired the Concorde hotel, which is the main shopping strip in Singapore. Earlier this year, another subsidiary divested its stake in shopping mall operator Paragon REIT, an undisclosed amount, so the group could focus on redeveloping its three adjacent major properties in the Orchard Road area, which the project estimated could cost S$1 billion (US$740 million) (US$740 million) and S$2 billion.
