SINGAPORE: On Monday (Apr 14), Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) announced that managing director and remuneration committee member Ong Beng Seng will be stepping down from the position “to devote more time to manage his medical conditions”.
In a bourse filing, the company said, “Mr Ong will not be putting himself up for re-election as a Director and will cease to be a director and step down as Managing Director at the conclusion of the Forty-Fifth Annual General Meeting to be held on Apr 29, 2025.” However, it did not state who will replace the 79-year-old Malaysian property tycoon and hotelier in either role.
The Business Times reported in February that Mr Ong has been undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of white blood cell cancer. Mr Ong was initially scheduled to plead guilty on April 2, but the court hearing related to the ongoing charges against him was postponed to April 25 to allow more time to obtain medical reports from his doctors.
Mr Ong has been linked to the corruption case involving former transport minister S Iswaran, the first case in which a former cabinet minister has been sentenced.
Mr Ong is known for bringing the Formula 1 (F1) night race to Singapore in 2008 and for holding the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix (GP). At the time, then junior trade minister Mr Iswaran was involved in negotiations with parties, including Mr Ong’s HPL and former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
On July 11, 2023, Mr Ong and Mr Iswaran were arrested after it was revealed that the former minister was assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with investigations into an undisclosed case.
In January 2024, Mr Iswaran was charged with 27 counts of corruption and receiving benefits from Mr Ong. Mr Ong was mentioned giving the former transport minister items worth over S$384,000 between November 2015 and December 2022, including tickets to F1 events worth S$347,152.10, plays and musicals worth S$10,693.91, flights and accommodation worth S$20,848.03, and football matches worth S$5,646.94.
According to The Business Times, on Sep 25, 2024, Mr Iswaran was convicted of five charges after he pleaded guilty to four charges of accepting gifts while in office and one charge of obstruction of justice. On Oct 3, he was sentenced to 12 months in prison. On Feb 7 this year, he was placed under the Home Detention Scheme after the prison service found he was eligible.
Mr Ong made his fortune in oil trading after joining Kuo International in 1975, a company owned by his father-in-law, Peter Fu Yun Siak. He later moved into property and hotel development, setting up HPL in 1980. One of his early deals was the S$72 million purchase of the Hilton Singapore hotel. Under his leadership, HPL expanded into a property and hospitality group with interests in hotel management, development, and investment.
He is married to Christina Ong, owner of COMO Group. The couple was listed by Forbes as having a net worth of US$1.7 billion in 2022. /TISG
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)