Indian-origin minister in Singapore questioned by CPIB: Media reports
Singapore (PTI): Transport Minister S Iswaran was questioned for around 10 hours by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in connection to an investigation into a case of corruption, according to local media reports.
He arrived at the CPIB building at Lengkok Bahru in Redhill estate at about 10.50 am on Tuesday.
Dressed in a blue shirt and dark trousers, Iswaran, 61, entered the compound alone.
The minister, who has taken a leave of absence from his official duties, left at 8.48 pm in an SUV, according to a report by TODAY newspaper.
The CPIB said last Friday that Iswaran and Hotel Property Limited Managing Director Ong Beng Seng were arrested on Jul 11 and assisting with investigations. The agency has not given details on the nature of the probe.
Both were released on bail, and as part of their bail conditions, their passports were impounded.
Ong, 77, returned to Singapore from Bali on a private plane on Monday afternoon, after being allowed by the CPIB to travel overseas. He had left for the Indonesian resort island last Friday after posting bail of SGD100,000.
Iswaran and Ong are known to be key figures in making Singapore's pitch to become a part of the Formula One circuit.
Ong is chairman of the Singapore Grand Prix, which organises the F1 night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit annually.
In the mid-2000s, Iswaran a junior trade minister at the time and Ong convinced then Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone to make Singapore the venue for the sport's first night race, starting in 2008.
Iswaran reportedly knew Ong when he was a bureaucrat and top executive at Temasek, according a report by The Straits Times.
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Kerala leader M A Baby elected CPIM general secretary
Madurai(PTI): Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress here on Sunday, sources said.
A section of the party leaders had backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale for the post.
Born to P M Alexander and Lilly Alexander in Kerala's Prakkulam in 1954, Baby's first exposure to politics came when he joined the Kerala Students Federation, the predecessor of the Students Federation of India, during his school days.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998.
Baby has been a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the CPI(M), since 2012.
The post of the party general secretary fell vacant following the death of Sitaram Yechury last year, after which Prakash Karat took over as the interim coordinator.
The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) began on April 2 and will end on Sunday.
