SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (NNN-XINHUA) – Singapore’s opposition leader, Pritam Singh, has been found guilty of two counts of lying to parliament, a judge announced, today.
Singh, secretary-general of the Workers’ Party (WP), and leader of the opposition in parliament, was convicted in connection with an investigation into former WP lawmaker, Raeesah Khan, who resigned in 2021, after admitting to making false statements in parliament.
In Aug, 2021, Khan falsely claimed that she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, where the victim was treated inappropriately. She repeated the claim before finally admitting in Nov, 2021, that it was untrue, according to local media reports. The matter was referred to the parliament’s Committee of Privileges, which launched an inquiry.
During the inquiry, Singh was accused of making false statements about his role in handling the case. The court found him guilty of lying about whether, when, and how he had advised Khan to come clean. Deputy Principal District Judge, Luke Tan, ruled that Singh’s testimony was inconsistent with the facts or simply not credible.
Singh’s trial lasted 13 days from Oct to Nov last year. The prosecution is seeking the maximum fine of 7,000 Singapore dollars (about 5,250 U.S. dollars) per charge. Singh’s lawyer objected to the proposed penalty, arguing that Singh was not involved in the original falsehood. (1 Singapore dollar equals 0.75 U.S. dollars)– NNN-XINHUA
