Singapore-based Malaysian F1 tycoon Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty next week after delays

The 79-year-old remains on bail, which was set at S$800,000 (US$630,000), The Straits Times reported after a pre-trial conference held Monday.

Ong was initially expected to plead guilty in April, but the hearing was delayed to allow his legal team time to submit medical documents.

A new date was set for July 3, but that too was adjourned as both sides required more time to prepare sentencing arguments.

Since then, the case has moved through a series of pre-trial conferences, which are hearings focused on scheduling and other procedural matters.

Last October, Ong was charged with abetting a public servant in accepting gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice.

The first charge concerns travel expenses covered by Ong for a December 2022 trip to Doha. He is accused of arranging for Iswaran to fly there on his private jet, a flight valued at US$7,700, according to The Business Times.

He also allegedly arranged a one-night stay for Iswaran at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, costing $4,737.63, along with a business-class flight back to Singapore worth $5,700.

The second charge, abetting the obstruction of justice, alleges that Ong informed Iswaran that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had obtained the flight manifest for the December 2022 trip, and urged Iswaran to request that Ong bill him for the flight to evade scrutiny.

Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months in prison in October 2024 after admitting to several charges, including receiving gifts from Ong, as reported by Channel News Asia.

Ong was previously the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, which has interests in 41 hotels across 17 countries under well-known brands including Como Hotels and Resorts, Four Seasons, and Marriott International.

In the mid-2000s, he collaborated with Iswaran to bring Formula One’s first night race in Singapore.

Ong has recently been undergoing chemotherapy for bone marrow cancer and received approval to seek treatment abroad in April.

That month, Ong also stepped down from his role at Hotel Properties, with the firm noting he intended to focus on his health.

Ong and his wife Christina were previously listed on Forbes’ billionaire list in 2024 with an estimated combined wealth of US$1.7 billion, but did not appear in this year’s rankings.