WP chief Pritam Singh’s trial over alleged lies to Parliament set to start on Oct 14
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 01 Jun 2024
Author: Wong Shiying
Singh, 47, was on March 19 charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.
The trial of opposition leader and Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh is slated for October and November, court records on May 31 show.
Singh, 47, was on March 19 charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.
The committee had called Singh as a witness, and later said he had not been truthful in his testimony while under oath.
Singh’s trial is set to start on Oct 14 and will take place over 16 days till Nov 13. The trial will be presided by Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan.
The Straits Times has contacted Singh’s lawyers, Mr Andre Jumabhoy and Mr Aristotle Emmanuel Eng Zhen Yang, for more information.
An Attorney-General’s Chambers spokesman said earlier that if Singh is convicted, it will be asking the court to impose a fine for each of his charges, based on the “evidence presently available and considering the totality of the circumstances”.
On Aug 3, 2021, Ms Khan, then an MP for Sengkang GRC, claimed in Parliament to have accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, where the victim was treated insensitively. She repeated the claim again in the House on Oct 4, 2021.
This was later found to be untrue, and on Nov 1, 2021, Ms Khan admitted to lying in Parliament. She said she had been sexually assaulted herself and had heard about the victim’s experience at a support group session.
She resigned on Nov 30, 2021.
The parliamentary committee found Ms Khan guilty of abuse of privilege and recommended that she be fined $35,000.
The committee also recommended referring Singh and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap to the public prosecutor for further investigations with a view to considering criminal proceedings, which Parliament later endorsed.
According to his charges, Singh allegedly gave false answers to the committee’s questions on Dec 10 and 15, 2021.
On one occasion, he allegedly said that after an Aug 8, 2021, meeting between him, Ms Khan and WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Faisal, he wanted Ms Khan to clarify in Parliament that what she had told it on Aug 3 about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station was untrue.
On two other occasions, he allegedly said that during a meeting with Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, he had asked her to come clean about her lie if the issue was brought up in the House on Oct 4.
In a joint statement on March 19, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and police said the prosecution decided not to charge Mr Faisal over his refusal to answer relevant questions that had been put to him by the committee.
Mr Faisal was issued an advisory by the police to familiarise himself with conduct expected of MPs under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, and to refrain from any act that may be in breach of it.
Lying in response to questions posed by a parliamentary committee is considered a criminal offence under the Act, and carries a maximum fine of $7,000, or a jail term of up to three years, or both.
Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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