SINGAPORE: Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has been asked to make his defence after a State Court judge ruled that the prosecution has made out a sufficient case against him.
The trial resumed on Tuesday (Nov 5) after a break of more than a week, with all eyes on whether Singh, 48, would take the stand. Singh told the court that he would be giving evidence in his defence.
The Leader of the Opposition faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee that was set up to look into the conduct of former party member Raeesah Khan, who had lied in parliament about accompanying a rape victim to a police station.
Singh is accused of falsely testifying to the Committee of Privileges on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021.
The first charge alleged that he lied when he said he wanted Ms Khan to clarify her untruth in parliament, when the two met on Aug 8, 2021, along with WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.
The second charge alleged that he gave false answers to the parliamentary committee when he said that he told Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, to clarify her story about the rape survivor if the issue came up in parliament the next day.
On Tuesday morning, before a full court, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan said that he found the prosecution's case to be sufficiently strong and called on Singh to answer to his two charges.
He delivered a brief oral judgment dealing with the defence’s submissions of no case to answer.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock, had wrapped up its case within nine days during the first tranche of hearings in October.
Four witnesses had testified for the prosecution - Ms Khan herself, WP cadres Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan, and former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang. The prosecution did not call to the stand its last witness, an investigation officer, as both sides had agreed to a set of facts relating to him.
Pritam Singh and his team arrive at the State Courts on Nov 5, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
The defence, led by lawyer Andre Jumabhoy, also completed its cross-examination of each witness. Mr Jumabhoy had repeatedly sought to impeach Ms Khan's credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her evidence. He also characterised the former WP member as a liar who told lies "non-stop".
On the two WP cadres, Mr Jumabhoy has sought to poke holes in their testimonies by pointing out contradictions in their evidence.
At the close of the prosecution's case, the defence said it would file written submissions arguing that there was no case for the defence to answer for the first charge but not the second charge. It later filed written submissions arguing that Singh has no case to answer for both charges.
Judge Tan had also asked both sides to address him on words in the allegations against Singh. He noted that some words in the charges could not be found in excerpts of Singh's exchange before the COP.
In its written submissions, the prosecution said that there was no need for the present charges to be amended, and asked the court to call on Singh for his defence. However, it proposed amendments should the court feel the need to amend the charges.
After reading both side's submissions, Judge Tan agreed with the prosecution that the current charges satisfied the requirements set out in law and that no amendments were necessary.
The judge then invited Singh to take the stand to testify.
The second tranche of the trial is slated to go on until Nov 13.
For each charge, Singh faces a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of up to S$7,000, or both.
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The trial resumed on Tuesday (Nov 5) after a break of more than a week, with all eyes on whether Singh, 48, would take the stand. Singh told the court that he would be giving evidence in his defence.
The Leader of the Opposition faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee that was set up to look into the conduct of former party member Raeesah Khan, who had lied in parliament about accompanying a rape victim to a police station.
Singh is accused of falsely testifying to the Committee of Privileges on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021.
The first charge alleged that he lied when he said he wanted Ms Khan to clarify her untruth in parliament, when the two met on Aug 8, 2021, along with WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.
The second charge alleged that he gave false answers to the parliamentary committee when he said that he told Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, to clarify her story about the rape survivor if the issue came up in parliament the next day.
On Tuesday morning, before a full court, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan said that he found the prosecution's case to be sufficiently strong and called on Singh to answer to his two charges.
He delivered a brief oral judgment dealing with the defence’s submissions of no case to answer.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock, had wrapped up its case within nine days during the first tranche of hearings in October.
Four witnesses had testified for the prosecution - Ms Khan herself, WP cadres Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan, and former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang. The prosecution did not call to the stand its last witness, an investigation officer, as both sides had agreed to a set of facts relating to him.
Pritam Singh and his team arrive at the State Courts on Nov 5, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
The defence, led by lawyer Andre Jumabhoy, also completed its cross-examination of each witness. Mr Jumabhoy had repeatedly sought to impeach Ms Khan's credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her evidence. He also characterised the former WP member as a liar who told lies "non-stop".
On the two WP cadres, Mr Jumabhoy has sought to poke holes in their testimonies by pointing out contradictions in their evidence.
At the close of the prosecution's case, the defence said it would file written submissions arguing that there was no case for the defence to answer for the first charge but not the second charge. It later filed written submissions arguing that Singh has no case to answer for both charges.
Judge Tan had also asked both sides to address him on words in the allegations against Singh. He noted that some words in the charges could not be found in excerpts of Singh's exchange before the COP.
In its written submissions, the prosecution said that there was no need for the present charges to be amended, and asked the court to call on Singh for his defence. However, it proposed amendments should the court feel the need to amend the charges.
After reading both side's submissions, Judge Tan agreed with the prosecution that the current charges satisfied the requirements set out in law and that no amendments were necessary.
The judge then invited Singh to take the stand to testify.
The second tranche of the trial is slated to go on until Nov 13.
For each charge, Singh faces a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of up to S$7,000, or both.
Continue reading...