S Iswaran said in a Facebook statement hours before his scheduled surrender that he would not be appealing his sentence. He thanked his supporters and apologised unreservedly to all Singaporeans.

S Iswaran has was accused of accepting gift worth $306,000 from Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng and businessman David Lum

A Singapore court was due on Thursday to sentence a former transport minister convicted last week of receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts, in what could be the first jailing of an ex-cabinet member in a city-state known for clean governance.

S. Iswaran turned himself in to a Singapore court to become the first ex-cabinet minister to be jailed in almost half a century, in a scandal that has riveted a city that prides itself on good governance.

A former Singaporean Cabinet minister began a one-year prison term Monday for receiving illegal gifts after saying he would not appeal his sentence in the rare criminal case involving a government minister in the Asian financial hub.

Iswaran, who was convicted after pleading guilty to four charges of obtaining valuable items as a public servant and one count of obstruction of justice, is scheduled to surrender to the court at 4 pm on Monday to begin his sentence.

Singapore’s former transport minister S Iswaran said he would not be appealing his 12-month jail term, which starts today, after he was convicted of four counts of receiving gifts and one of obstructing justice.

Former Singapore transport minister S Iswaran said in a statement on Facebook that he will not appeal the one-year prison sentence handed out to him after pleading guilty to five charges. In the statement,