SINGAPORE: Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh was charged on Tuesday (Mar 19) with lying before a Committee of Privileges, which was looking into a lie told by the party's former MP Raeesah Khan in parliament.
Singh, 47, faces two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Under the provision, it is an offence to
The charging comes more than two years after the Committee of Privileges said Singh and the party's vice-chair Faisal Manap had been "untruthful in their evidence under oath".
In its final report in February 2022, the committee recommended that both men be referred to the public prosecutor for further investigations. The prosecutor referred the case to the police.
Mr Faisal was issued a police advisory but not charged.
Singh is accused of falsely testifying on Dec 10, 2021, about a meeting he had with Ms Khan, WP chair Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal on Aug 8 that year.
Singh had told the Committee of Privileges that at the conclusion of that meeting, he wanted Ms Khan to "at some point" clarify in parliament that she had lied.
The second charge states that on Dec 10 and 15, 2021, he falsely testified that when he spoke to Ms Khan on Oct 3, he wanted her to admit to having lied if the issue came up in parliament the next day.
On Tuesday, Singh arrived at the State Courts alone. When asked by reporters why he was there, he asked them to wait for a statement and said: "Why do you normally come to the State Courts?"
He later told the court: "I plead not guilty" when asked to enter his plea. A prosecutor asked for a pre-trial conference date to deal with trial issues, as there were no bail issues to contend with.
Singh then asked District Judge Brenda Tan for a four-week adjournment to hire a lawyer. The judge fixed a pre-trial conference on Apr 17.
If convicted, the WP secretary-general faces jail time of up to three years and a fine of up to S$7,000 (US$5,200) for each charge.
Under laws passed in May 2022, a person is disqualified from standing for election to become an MP, while a sitting MP will lose their seat, if they are jailed for at least one year or fined at least S$10,000. The disqualification lasts for five years.
The case stems from a speech Ms Khan made in parliament on Aug 3, 2021, during a Workers' Party motion on empowering women. She was an MP for Sengkang GRC at the time.
She claimed she had accompanied a victim of sexual assault to a police station, and alleged that the police mishandled the case.
Pressed for details by then-Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan, Ms Khan declined to provide them, claiming that she did not want the victim to relive her trauma.
In October that same year, Ms Khan again declined to provide details regarding the case to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, citing confidentiality reasons.
Ms Khan eventually admitted to lying about the case and apologised in parliament. She stated she was a survivor of sexual assault and had heard about the supposed victim’s experience at the police station during a support group session.
Leader of the House Indranee Rajah then referred Ms Khan’s conduct to parliament’s Committee of Privileges.
The committee’s report in February 2022 described Singh as having been the “operating brain” in Ms Khan perpetuating the untruth. The former MP said Singh had told her to take the lie “to the grave”.
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Singh, 47, faces two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Under the provision, it is an offence to
The charging comes more than two years after the Committee of Privileges said Singh and the party's vice-chair Faisal Manap had been "untruthful in their evidence under oath".
In its final report in February 2022, the committee recommended that both men be referred to the public prosecutor for further investigations. The prosecutor referred the case to the police.
Mr Faisal was issued a police advisory but not charged.
Singh is accused of falsely testifying on Dec 10, 2021, about a meeting he had with Ms Khan, WP chair Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal on Aug 8 that year.
Singh had told the Committee of Privileges that at the conclusion of that meeting, he wanted Ms Khan to "at some point" clarify in parliament that she had lied.
The second charge states that on Dec 10 and 15, 2021, he falsely testified that when he spoke to Ms Khan on Oct 3, he wanted her to admit to having lied if the issue came up in parliament the next day.
On Tuesday, Singh arrived at the State Courts alone. When asked by reporters why he was there, he asked them to wait for a statement and said: "Why do you normally come to the State Courts?"
He later told the court: "I plead not guilty" when asked to enter his plea. A prosecutor asked for a pre-trial conference date to deal with trial issues, as there were no bail issues to contend with.
Singh then asked District Judge Brenda Tan for a four-week adjournment to hire a lawyer. The judge fixed a pre-trial conference on Apr 17.
If convicted, the WP secretary-general faces jail time of up to three years and a fine of up to S$7,000 (US$5,200) for each charge.
Under laws passed in May 2022, a person is disqualified from standing for election to become an MP, while a sitting MP will lose their seat, if they are jailed for at least one year or fined at least S$10,000. The disqualification lasts for five years.
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WHAT THE CASE IS ABOUT
The case stems from a speech Ms Khan made in parliament on Aug 3, 2021, during a Workers' Party motion on empowering women. She was an MP for Sengkang GRC at the time.
She claimed she had accompanied a victim of sexual assault to a police station, and alleged that the police mishandled the case.
Pressed for details by then-Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan, Ms Khan declined to provide them, claiming that she did not want the victim to relive her trauma.
In October that same year, Ms Khan again declined to provide details regarding the case to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, citing confidentiality reasons.
Ms Khan eventually admitted to lying about the case and apologised in parliament. She stated she was a survivor of sexual assault and had heard about the supposed victim’s experience at the police station during a support group session.
Leader of the House Indranee Rajah then referred Ms Khan’s conduct to parliament’s Committee of Privileges.
The committee’s report in February 2022 described Singh as having been the “operating brain” in Ms Khan perpetuating the untruth. The former MP said Singh had told her to take the lie “to the grave”.
Continue reading...