What is an impeachment application, and how does it work in court?: askST

Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 18 Oct 2024
Author: Andrew Wong

Lawyers said a decision on an impeachment bid typically comes at the final decision-making stage.

Workers’ Party (WP) chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh faces two charges over allegedly lying to a parliamentary committee in 2021.

Both charges come under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, which makes it an offence to lie in response to questions posed by Parliament or its committee.

Former WP MP Raeesah Khan had admitted on Nov 1, 2021, that she had misled Parliament on Aug 3 and Oct 4, 2021, when she claimed she had accompanied a sex assault victim to a police station, where the victim was treated insensitively.

Singh allegedly told Ms Khan to maintain her lie on two separate occasions, according to the prosecution.

On Oct 15, Singh’s lawyer Andre Jumabhoy filed an application to impeach Ms Khan’s credibility as a witness.

He argued that Ms Khan had produced one version of evidence in court, and another in her statement to the police.

The judge has not yet ruled on the impeachment application. The trial is fixed for 16 days until Nov 13.

Lawyers explain the impeachment process, and what it could mean for a case.

1. What is an impeachment application?

Mr Cory Wong, director of Invictus Law Corp, said an impeachment is a process that challenges the credibility of a witness. This is typically done by using the witness’ previous statements to contradict what he had testified in court.

Mr Alexander Woon, provost’s chair at Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Law, said the application for impeachment must follow the procedures set out in the Evidence Act.

He added that this means whoever is filing the application must specify a basis for the impeachment, and cross-examine the witness in reference to those inconsistencies to determine if there are grounds for impeachment.

In the case of impeaching a witness, the judge will first have to be satisfied that there are material inconsistencies before the witness is given the opportunity to explain them.

2. What does it take for an impeachment bid to be successful?

Lawyers said certain conditions must be met in order for an impeachment bid to be successful.

Mr Woon said it is not a finding the court will make lightly.

He said: “Some degree of inconsistency is to be expected as witnesses are not robots – memory is imperfect. The issue is whether there is a material inconsistency that the witness cannot credibly explain.”

Mr Wong said the bid would be successful if the witness is unable to provide a valid or believable explanation for why there are two inconsistent versions in their statement.

He added that the judge will usually announce whether the bid is successful only at the point of his final decision-making stage at the end, instead of midway through the trial.

Mr John Lim, managing director of LIMN Law Corp, agreed, saying: “The court is not required to make an immediate ruling on whether the credibility of the witness is impeached.”

3. What does a successful impeachment mean for the case?

If a witness is impeached, the judge is likely to give lesser weight to or forgo a certain part of the evidence, when coming to a verdict.

Said Mr Wong: “Impeachment is generally specific to that particular piece or portion of the evidence. It does not mean that just because a witness is impeached on one point, that they must have also lied about other points.”

Mr Lim said a successful impeachment would attack the credibility of that witness’ evidence.

He added: “The court will carefully scrutinise the whole evidence of the witness to determine which aspects of the evidence should be disregarded, and which aspect to believe.”

But a successful impeachment does not automatically equate to a good predictor of a case’s outcome, said Mr Woon, who practises at RHTLaw Asia. The judge will still have to consider other evidence and witnesses, he said.

Mr Woon added: “Even if a witness is not formally impeached, if the witness’ testimony is riddled with inconsistencies and poor reasoning, the judge may also put limited weight on it.”