OPINION: Sex Scandals Signal an End to Singapore's Corruption-Free Image - Jessica Seah


Law.com, 14 Aug 2012
Singapore has long prided -- and touted -- itself as a place where the type of corruption rampant elsewhere in Asia simply does not exist. The high salaries paid to Singapore officials -- junior cabinet ministers earn $750,000 and the prime minister gets $1.7 million -- are supposed to forestall financial temptation.
But a recent string of high-profile corruption scandals has highlighted Singapore officials' weakness to other forms of temptation as well.
The cases coincide with Singapore losing its crown as the world's least corrupt country, according to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. In December the city-state slid to the fifth position, behind New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Full story