A Singapore court has sentenced a former minister to 12 months in prison for obstructing justice and receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts in the Asian city-state’s first political corruption trial for nearly half a century.

S Iswaran, who was a cabinet member for 13 years and has held the trade, communications and transport portfolios, pleaded guilty last week to four counts of improperly receiving gifts and one of obstructing justice.

The sentence handed down on Thursday was more severe than the six to seven months sought by the prosecution, which presiding judge Vincent Hoong said was “manifestly inadequate” given the gravity of Iswaran’s offences and their impact on public trust.

“Trust and confidence in public institutions were the bedrock of effective governance, which could all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant had fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability,” he said in sentencing Iswaran.

The case has shocked Singapore, which prides itself on having a well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong and squeaky-clean governance. It was among the world’s top five least corrupt countries last year, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

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