Singapore: Indian-Origin Opposition Leader Pritam Singh Charged With Lying Under Oath To Parliament
Pritam Singh is accused of falsely testifying at the Committee of Privileges hearings involving former Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan.
Singapore's Indian-origin Leader of Opposition, Pritam Singh, was on Tuesday charged with lying under oath to a parliamentary committee. Singh is the Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP). He is accused of falsely testifying at the Committee of Privileges hearings involving former Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan.
On Tuesday, the 47-year-old opposition politician, who was unrepresented, pleaded not guilty to the two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities, and Powers) Act and claimed trial, as reported by news agency PTI.
Singh may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to SGD 7,000 per charge if convicted. He requested a four-week adjournment to engage a lawyer. According to several media reports, a pre-trial conference has been scheduled for April 17, as reported by PTI.
According to chargesheets, on December 10, 2021, the opposition leader falsely testified that after a meeting with fellow WP members Khan, Sylvia Lim, and Faisal Manap on August 8, 2021, he wanted Khan to tell Parliament that what she told MPs on August 3, 2021, was untrue, as reported by PTI. Singh is also accused of falsely testifying on December 10 and December 15, 2021, that when he spoke to Khan on October 3, 2021, he wanted her to admit to having lied in Parliament.
Khan's case came to light in 2021 when she admitted that she lied in Parliament over a rape case that she alleged was mishandled by the police. Her conduct was referred to Parliament's Committee of Privileges.
According to PTI, after a series of hearings, the committee recommended that Singh be referred to the public prosecutor for further investigations and possible criminal proceedings over his conduct before the committee. He previously rejected the Committee of Privileges' findings, calling out "gaps and omissions" in the report, which he said suggested political partisanship.
During the parliamentary debate on the final report of the Committee of Privileges', Singh argued that the committee focused on Khan's "uncorroborated testimony" that she was given instructions by the WP leadership to never reveal that she had lied to Parliament.
On February 15, 2022, Singh said, "At no time did I instruct Khan to hide the truth. At the meeting on August 8, none of the three Workers' Party leaders told Khan to take her lie to the grave," as quoted by PTI.
A day after the Committee of Privileges released its final report, the WP said that it noted with "grave concern" the recommendation to refer Singh and Workers' Party (WP) vice-chair Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap Faisal for possible public prosecution.
At the heart of the report was its finding that Leader of Opposition had lied while testifying under oath, conduct that the committee said could amount to perjury. The report determined that Singh appeared to have "played the key and leading role in guiding Khan in respect of the untruth".
According to PTI, the committee called Singh the "key orchestrator" of the circumstances that led to Khan repeating her lie in Parliament on October 4, 2021. It suggested that Singh was the "operating brain" for why Khan's lie was not immediately clarified at the first instance after August 8, 2021. Khan tendered his resignation from the WP and her parliamentary seat on November 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) will not seek suspension from parliament of the Singh. People's Action Party organising secretary Grace Fu, "Parliament should not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings," as quoted by PTI.
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