Singapore's Indian-origin Opposition leader charged with lying to Parliament

Singapore: Singapore's Indian-origin Leader of Opposition, Pritam Singh, was on Tuesday charged with lying under oath to a parliamentary committee. Singh, the Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP), is accused of falsely testifying at the Committee of Privileges hearings involving former Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan.

Standing in the dock 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.

If convicted, he may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to SGD 7,000 (Rs 4,33,006 approx) per charge.

He requested a four-week adjournment to engage a lawyer. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for April 17, according to media reports. According to chargesheets, Singh falsely testified on December 10, 2021, 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.

He 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 to lying in Parliament over a rape case that she alleged was mishandled by the police.

Her conduct was referred to Parliament's Committee of Privileges. After a series of hearings, the committee recommended that Singh also be referred to the public prosecutor for further investigations and possible criminal proceedings over his conduct before the committee. Singh 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 Committee of Privileges' final report, Singh argued that the Committee of Privileges focused on Khan's 'uncorroborated testimony' that she was instructed by the WP leadership to never reveal that she had lied to Parliament.

"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," Singh said on February 15, 2022.

A day after the Committee of Privileges released its final report, the WP said 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 Committee of Privileges' final report was its finding that Singh 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'.

Calling him the 'key orchestrator' of the circumstances that led to Khan repeating her lie in Parliament on October 4, 2021, the committee suggested Singh was the 'operating brain' for why Khan's lie was not immediately clarified at the first instance after August 8, 2021.

Khan resigned 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.

'Parliament should not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings,' said People's Action Party organising secretary Grace Fu.

In a media statement, PAP organising secretary Grace Fu said there have been queries about whether the party will, through its Members of Parliament, be seeking to suspend Singh given that he has been formally charged. PAP has absolute majority in the house and Singh is the first Leader of Opposition appointed in recent decades in the economically prosperous city state.

Channel News Asia cited Fu as saying that the party will not comment on the merits of the case as it is now before the courts.

"This is in line with parliament’s resolution to defer any sanctions in respect of Singh’s and his fellow WP members' roles in the matter of former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s untruth, until after the conclusion of the investigations and criminal proceedings (if any) against Singh," she said.

Following Singh's charging on Tuesday, Fu said, "Parliament must deal rigorously with any MP who has committed wrongdoing, but suspending an MP is a serious action that must be done in accordance with due process of the law and natural justice. Parliament should not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings."