Pritam Singh handed 2 charges for lying to Committee of Privileges, pleads not guilty

UPDATE on Mar. 19 at 1:50pm: This article has been updated with a statement from the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh was charged in court on Mar. 19, 2024.

The Leader of the Opposition faces a total of two charges under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

Charges

Singh is accused of falsely testifying that as at the conclusion of a meeting with former WP Member of Parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan, WP Chair Sylvia Lim and WP Vice Chair Muhamad Faisal bin Abdul Manap on Aug. 8, 2021, he wanted Raeesah to, at some point, clarify in parliament that what she told MPs on Aug. 3, 2021 about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station was untrue.

Singh allegedly falsely testified on Dec. 10, 2021 and Dec. 15, 2021 that when he spoke to Raeesah on Oct. 3, 2021, he wanted her to admit to having lied to parliament on Aug 3, 2021 about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station, if this issue were to come up in parliament on Oct 4, 2021.

The offences are punishable with a fine of up to S$7,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both, according to a joint statement by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) on Mar. 19.

In response to media queries, the AGC said that if Singh is convicted, the prosecution will ask the Court to impose a fine for each of the charges.

Pleaded not guilty

When asked to take his plea, Singh pleaded not guilty.

Singh requested a four-week adjournment to engage counsel.

A pre-trial conference hearing is fixed for Apr. 17 at 9am.

Background

On Feb. 10, 2022, the Committee of Privileges (COP) presented its report to Parliament regarding the lie made by Raeesah.

It suggested that Singh and Faisal be referred to the Public Prosecutor.

The report concluded that Singh had lied on affirmation.

While Parliament could impose sanctions on Singh based on the COP's findings, given the seriousness of the matter, the COP said it appeared best that the issue be dealt with through a trial process.

Raeesah's lie

On Nov. 1, 2021, Raeesah admitted to Parliament that she had previously lied in Parliament and apologised for her actions.

During her speech on Aug. 3, 2021, on WP's motion on empowering women, she said that she accompanied a 25-year-old rape survivor to make a police report.

The survivor apparently came out of the police station crying after a police officer allegedly made comments about how the survivor was dressed and the fact that she had been drinking.

On Oct. 4, 2021, the Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam pressed Raeesah for more information about the claim.

The police later stated they could not identify the report matching Raeesah's claim or the officers allegedly involved.

Raeesah admitted that she had heard the survivor share in a women's support group that she was part of but had not been present with the survivor as she shared.

Raeesah then shared that she attended the support group because she was a survivor of sexual assault, having been sexually assaulted when she was 18 years old and studying abroad.

Referred to COP

On Nov. 1, 2021, the Leader of the House, Indranee Rajah, referred the matter to the COP.

Raeesah resigned from WP and as MP for Sengkang GRC on Nov. 30, 2021.

The COP conducted a series of hearings with Raeesah, members of WP, and others in December 2021.

The COP announced on Feb. 10, 2022, that Raeesah should be fined S$35,000 for lying in Parliament.

The COP also suggested that Singh and Faisal be referred to the Public Prosecutor. The report suggested that any appropriate sanctions for WP leader Sylvia Lim should be deferred until after the conclusion of investigations against Singh.

Related stories