SINGAPORE: The conduct of Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap will be raised for discussion in parliament following the conviction of party chief Pritam Singh for lying under oath to a parliamentary committee, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said on Monday (Dec 22).
In a response to media queries, Ms Indranee said the court judgments in Mr Singh's case have "implications" for Ms Lim and Mr Faisal, and the matter will be discussed at the next parliamentary sitting in January 2026.
Her comments came after Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao asked whether parliament would consider any follow-up actions with regard to Ms Lim and Mr Faisal.
Ms Indranee referred to the Committee of Privileges (COP) report to parliament on Feb 10, 2022.
"First, it found that Mr Singh had lied to the COP. This was referred to the public prosecutor. Since then, Mr Singh has been convicted of lying to the COP. This was while under oath. I have addressed this in my earlier statement," she said.
She also said that Mr Faisal’s refusal to answer the COP’s queries had also been referred to the public prosecutor for possible contempt of parliament, adding that Mr Faisal was then issued a police advisory after investigations.
"Third, the COP found that Ms Lim and Mr Faisal had both lied under oath when they denied that, at the meeting of August 2021 which they attended, Ms Raeesah Khan was told to hide her untruth (i.e. to take it to the grave). The COP’s findings have been borne out by the court judgments," she added.
"The COP was of the view that if Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal had guided Ms Khan to repeat her lie in parliament, then such conduct would be unbecoming of a parliamentarian, and would amount to contempt of parliament."
In her statement, Ms Indranee noted that as all three WP MPs disputed the findings in the COP report, parliament had at that time postponed making a decision on the matter until after the outcome of Mr Singh’s case.
Ms Indranee said last week that the Singapore parliament must deliberate on an "appropriate response" to Mr Singh's actions and convictions.
"Lying under oath is a serious matter. In some countries, leaders who have lied, cheated or flagrantly broken the law still escape any legal or political consequences. We cannot accept such standards in Singapore," Ms Indranee said in the media statement.
Ms Indranee had also criticised the WP's handling of the Raeesah Khan case, saying that Mr Singh had formed a disciplinary panel with Ms Lim and Mr Faisal to investigate Ms Khan's conduct.
“This was a travesty, given that the three of them already knew about the lie months earlier, and it was in fact Mr Singh who guided Ms Khan to continue with the lie. None of these facts were disclosed when the disciplinary panel was formed,” said Ms Indranee.
Singh, 49, had claimed trial to two charges of lying to the committee of privileges in relation to a false anecdote told by former party member Raeesah Khan.
She had claimed in parliament that she had gone to a police station with a rape victim, later doubling down on the lie when questioned by Minister K Shanmugam, before confessing to it a few months after her original lie.
Singh was later charged over false answers he gave the Committee of Privileges, which was looking into Ms Khan's conduct.
Mr Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition and MP for Aljunied GRC, was convicted in February and sentenced to a total fine of S$14,000 (US$10,800).
As the fine of S$7,000 per charge did not meet the threshold for disqualification, he remained an MP, and led his team to victory in Aljunied GRC in May’s General Election.
Earlier this month, a High Court judge dismissed an appeal by Mr Singh against his conviction for lying to the parliamentary committee.
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In a response to media queries, Ms Indranee said the court judgments in Mr Singh's case have "implications" for Ms Lim and Mr Faisal, and the matter will be discussed at the next parliamentary sitting in January 2026.
Her comments came after Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao asked whether parliament would consider any follow-up actions with regard to Ms Lim and Mr Faisal.
Ms Indranee referred to the Committee of Privileges (COP) report to parliament on Feb 10, 2022.
"First, it found that Mr Singh had lied to the COP. This was referred to the public prosecutor. Since then, Mr Singh has been convicted of lying to the COP. This was while under oath. I have addressed this in my earlier statement," she said.
She also said that Mr Faisal’s refusal to answer the COP’s queries had also been referred to the public prosecutor for possible contempt of parliament, adding that Mr Faisal was then issued a police advisory after investigations.
"Third, the COP found that Ms Lim and Mr Faisal had both lied under oath when they denied that, at the meeting of August 2021 which they attended, Ms Raeesah Khan was told to hide her untruth (i.e. to take it to the grave). The COP’s findings have been borne out by the court judgments," she added.
"The COP was of the view that if Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal had guided Ms Khan to repeat her lie in parliament, then such conduct would be unbecoming of a parliamentarian, and would amount to contempt of parliament."
In her statement, Ms Indranee noted that as all three WP MPs disputed the findings in the COP report, parliament had at that time postponed making a decision on the matter until after the outcome of Mr Singh’s case.
Ms Indranee said last week that the Singapore parliament must deliberate on an "appropriate response" to Mr Singh's actions and convictions.
"Lying under oath is a serious matter. In some countries, leaders who have lied, cheated or flagrantly broken the law still escape any legal or political consequences. We cannot accept such standards in Singapore," Ms Indranee said in the media statement.
Ms Indranee had also criticised the WP's handling of the Raeesah Khan case, saying that Mr Singh had formed a disciplinary panel with Ms Lim and Mr Faisal to investigate Ms Khan's conduct.
“This was a travesty, given that the three of them already knew about the lie months earlier, and it was in fact Mr Singh who guided Ms Khan to continue with the lie. None of these facts were disclosed when the disciplinary panel was formed,” said Ms Indranee.
BACKGROUND
Singh, 49, had claimed trial to two charges of lying to the committee of privileges in relation to a false anecdote told by former party member Raeesah Khan.
She had claimed in parliament that she had gone to a police station with a rape victim, later doubling down on the lie when questioned by Minister K Shanmugam, before confessing to it a few months after her original lie.
Singh was later charged over false answers he gave the Committee of Privileges, which was looking into Ms Khan's conduct.
Mr Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition and MP for Aljunied GRC, was convicted in February and sentenced to a total fine of S$14,000 (US$10,800).
As the fine of S$7,000 per charge did not meet the threshold for disqualification, he remained an MP, and led his team to victory in Aljunied GRC in May’s General Election.
Earlier this month, a High Court judge dismissed an appeal by Mr Singh against his conviction for lying to the parliamentary committee.
Continue reading...