SINGAPORE — An ongoing corruption probe involving Transport Minister S Iswaran stemmed from an unrelated investigation on a separate matter by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday (July 12).

Speaking to the media, Mr Wong said that CPIB had updated Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about that investigation in May this year.

Mr Wong added that he had also been "kept in the loop then and so I'm familiar with the background".

"CPIB took some time to delve into the matter and they updated their findings to the Prime Minister last week, on July 5. And at that time, they said they needed to interview Minister Iswaran as part of further investigations," he said.

"Within a day, the Prime Minister gave his concurrence to the director of CPIB to open formal investigations and that started yesterday."

Mr Wong urged the public to let the investigation "take its course and refrain from any further speculation at this juncture".

He added that other Members of Parliament (MP) from West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC) will cover Mr Iswaran's MP duties while he is on leave of absence.

Besides Mr Iswaran, the other MPs from West Coast GRC are Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Desmond Lee, Ms Foo Mee Har and Ms Rachel Ong.

Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, was addressing reporters at the Ministry of Communications and Information about the investigations involving Mr Iswaran.

On Wednesday morning, CPIB said in a press release that Mr Iswaran was assisting the bureau with investigations into a matter that it has uncovered.

The agency did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation.

In a separate statement released on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) website, Mr Lee said that he was briefed by the director of CPIB last Wednesday regarding a case that the bureau had uncovered.

He has also instructed Mr Iswaran to take a leave of absence until these investigations are completed.

In response to questions from the media on the difference between CPIB's recent investigations into the rental of two bungalows at Ridout Road by two other government ministers and the latest case, Mr Wong said that "the two cases are very different".

In the Ridout Road case, allegations related to the matter had been made online and the Singapore Land Authority had made a statement. Questions were raised by the public and MPs even after the statement was put out.

The two ministers involved had also asked for an independent review of the matter. This is why they were not put on leave of absence, added Mr Wong.

On the other hand, the case involving Mr Iswaran has been "completely driven by CPIB from the beginning".

"There was no public complaint," said Mr Wong.

"It was CPIB that discovered the matter through their initial findings and investigations, and they felt that there was a need to interview Minister Iswaran as part of further investigations. So they raised the matter with the Prime Minister."

Mr Wong said that the probe involving Mr Iswaran is "concrete proof" of how Singapore's anti-corruption system works and that the Government will continue to uphold "stringent standards of honesty, integrity and probity" that Singaporeans expect of their political leaders.

"And we will investigate all cases that come up and whichever way the facts eventually fall, they will be taken to their logical conclusion.

"We will be upfront and transparent and we will not sweep anything under the carpet, even if they are potentially embarrassing or damaging to the People's Action Party and to the Government," he added.

Mr Wong said that he did not know how long CPIB will require to conclude its investigations, but that it will do a full, thorough and independent investigation into the case.

In a Facebook post later on Wednesday, West Coast GRC MP Desmond Lee said that he and the other MPs from the GRC "will step up and cover his duties on the ground, including meet-the-people sessions", while Mr Iswaran is on leave of absence.

Mr Lee, who is also the National Development Minister, said: "We would like to assure residents of West Coast division that we will continue to serve them and ensure that their needs are supported."