In the case of Ridout, concerns were raised both publicly and in parliament, according to Mr. Wong. This led the two ministers to call for an independent review of the matter, a request that Mr. Lee accepted. To further investigate the situation, CPIB was asked to step in.
The investigations into Ridout eventually concluded that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing or corruption by the ministers involved. The results of the findings were publicly disclosed, providing a comprehensive account of the issue in parliament, as stated by Mr. Wong.
In contrast, the situation with Mr. Iswaran is significantly different. CPIB took the initiative from the very beginning, and there were no public complaints. It was through CPIB’s initial findings and investigations that the matter came to light, leading them to feel it necessary to interview Minister Iswaran for further investigation, Mr. Wong explained.
Earlier, CPIB had been conducting an unrelated investigation on a separate matter. In May, they updated Mr. Lee on their progress, and Mr. Wong confirmed that he was also kept informed at the time. CPIB then continued their investigations and shared their findings with Mr. Lee last week on July 5th, requesting an interview with Mr. Iswaran.
Within a day, Mr. Lee concurred with the CPIB director’s recommendation to launch formal investigations, which officially began yesterday, Mr. Wong elaborated.
