Board members of statutory boards get reminder on gift rules

Board members of statutory boards have been sent a letter by the Public Service Division (PSD) to make clear the circumstances under which they could be considered public servants under the law.

- Wong Pei Ting

For the purposes of Section 165 of the Penal Code, such board members would be considered public servants when “carrying out a function of the statutory board”, said PSD on Oct 9 in response to queries from The Straits Times.

The letter, issued on Oct 7, was also sent to chairpersons of government statutory boards.

The PSD's letter comes after former transport minister S. Iswaran was convicted of five charges on Oct 3. Iswaran started his one-year jail term on Oct 7 after pleading guilty to four charges under Section 165, which prohibits public officers from obtaining gifts from parties with whom they have official business dealings.