WP chief Pritam Singh lied to downplay his responsibility in Raeesah Khan’s untruth, says prosecution
Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh arriving at the State Courts on Oct 14, 2024. He is fighting two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee
After he found out former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan had lied in Parliament, Workers’ Party (WP) chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh told a parliamentary committee investigating the matter that he had asked her to clarify the untruth to the House. In reality, Singh had, on two different occasions, told Ms Khan to maintain her lie, said the prosecution on Oct 14, the first day of Singh’s trial. This meant that in attempting to downplay his own responsibility in Ms Khan’s lying controversy, he had provided false testimony to the Committee of Privileges, it added.
Ms Khan admitted in Parliament on Nov 1, 2021, that she had misled Parliament on Aug 3 and Oct 4, 2021, when she claimed and then restated that she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, where the victim was treated insensitively. She had first disclosed her lie to Singh on Aug 7, 2021. The committee that investigated Ms Khan’s lie held hearings for seven days between Dec 2 and Dec 22, 2021, and its report was debated in Parliament on Feb 15, 2022, which was when the House resolved to refer Singh to the public prosecutor for a further probe.
Singh was charged on March 19, 2024. He is contesting two charges 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. If convicted, he could be fined up to $7,000, jailed for up to three years, or both, on each charge.
related: Pritam Singh’s lawyer paints Raeesah Khan as habitual liar in bid to impeach witness’ credit
Day 2: Pritam Singh’s trial over alleged lies to Parliament
The Workers’ Party chief faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee over former MP Raeesah Khan’s case.
Wrapping up today’s proceedings, here are the highlights:
- On day 2, former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan was grilled by the defence on messages sent between her and two WP cadres over a meeting with party leaders.
- Ms Khan said she was surprised by the party leaders' decision in November 2021 to put her through a disciplinary hearing.
- Ms Khan also explained why she decided to tell the Committee of Privileges about WP leaders' knowledge of her untruth, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.
- Ms Khan is the first witness called to the stand and her testimony continues today. Former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang and two former cadre members will also testify in the trial.
Key moments from Raeesah Khan's testimony on Day 2 of Pritam Singh's trial
Ms Raeesah Khan, the former Workers' Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP), testified for a second day in the trial of WP secretary-general Pritam Singh on Tuesday (Oct 15).
Ms Khan, 30, is the first witness in Singh's trial over alleged false testimony he gave to a Committee of Privileges (COP) that was investigating a lie she told in parliament in August 2021. On her second day on the witness stand, Singh's lawyer Andre Jumabhoy opened his cross-examination of Ms Khan, seeking to cast her as a habitual liar.
Here are five key moments from her testimony:
- FELT "DEFEATED AND BETRAYED" BY PARTY LEADERS
- KHAN RESIGNED DUE TO LACK OF SUPPORT
- "I LIED TO THE WHOLE COUNTRY"
- "YOU SEEM TO BE ADDING NEW THINGS"
- ATTEMPT TO IMPEACH KHAN'S CREDIT
Day 1 of Pritam Singh's trial: Prosecution reveals case and witness list, Raeesah Khan on the stand
Key points from Day 1 of Pritam Singh's trial over alleged lies to a Committee of Privileges when testifying about his knowledge of Ms Raeesah Khan's case
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh went on trial on Monday (Oct 14) in a closely watched case, contesting two charges for essentially lying in Parliament when being questioned over former Workers' Party (WP) member Raeesah Khan's own lies.
Ms Khan had lied in Parliament twice in 2021 about accompanying a rape victim to a police station, where a police officer allegedly made comments about the woman's attire and consumption of alcohol. Here is all you need to know about what went down on the first day of the trial - an unprecedented prosecution for "wilfully" giving false answers to a Committee of Privileges (COP) under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.
Singh, a 48-year-old father of two, is accused of making the following two lies before the COP on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021:
- At the conclusion of his meeting with Ms Khan and WP members Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap on Aug 8, 2021, Singh wanted Ms Khan to clarify at some point in parliament that what she had said about accompanying a rape victim to a police station was untrue
- When Singh spoke to Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, he wanted to convey to Ms Khan that if the issue came up in parliament the next day, she had to clarify that her story about accompanying the rape victim was a lie.
related:
‘You tell lies non-stop’: Pritam Singh’s lawyer paints former WP MP Raeesah Khan as a habitual liar
At one charged moment in court, Singh’s lawyer, former prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, confronted Khan with the question: “You are, in fact, a liar, correct? You tell lies non-stop, don’t you?”
Workers’ Party (WP) chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh’s defence lawyers sought to paint former WP MP Raeesah Khan as a habitual liar from the moment her cross-examination began on the second day of Singh’s trial.
At one charged moment in court, Singh’s lawyer, former prosecutor Andre Jumabhoy, confronted Khan with the question: “You are, in fact, a liar, correct? You tell lies non-stop, don’t you?”
“Yes, I lied,” Khan said in response to the first question. She also asked what Jumabhoy meant by “non-stop”.
Pritam Singh's trial opens as prosecution argues he guided Raeesah Khan to maintain lie in parliament
Pritam Singh arrives at the State Courts for his trial on Oct 14, 2024
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh's trial opened on Monday (Oct 14) with prosecutors setting out the details of their case against the Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general for the first time.
Singh, 48, is accused of lying while being examined before a Committee of Privileges (COP) that was investigating the conduct of former WP Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan. He faces two charges under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act for wilfully making two false answers on Dec 10, 2021 and Dec 15, 2021, during the inquiry into Ms Khan's case. He is believed to be the first to be prosecuted under this Act.
During a parliamentary debate on Aug 3, 2021, Ms Khan made a speech in which she claimed that she had once accompanied a rape survivor to make a police report, and that the police officer had made comments about the woman's attire and consumption of alcohol. She later admitted in parliament on 1 Nov 2021 that this anecdote was a lie. The COP was convened to look into the matter.
‘I revered him’: 7 key points from former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s testimony in Pritam Singh trial
Former WP member Raeesah Khan arriving at the State Courts on Oct 14
Former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan is the first witness the prosecution called to testify on Oct 14, the first day of the trial of Workers’ Party (WP) chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh.
Singh is contesting two charges over his alleged lies to a parliamentary committee convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving Ms Khan. Ms Khan had, on Aug 3, 2021, told Parliament about how she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, where the victim was treated insensitively. She repeated the claim before the House on Oct 4 the same year before admitting to her lie on Nov 1, 2021.
Here are seven points that surfaced from Ms Khan’s testimony on the first day of the trial:
- Singh suggested that WP leaders and Ms Khan take her untruth ‘to the grave’
- ‘He wouldn’t judge me for continuing to lie’
- Party leaders were deeply involved in Ms Khan’s public statements
- Ms Khan ‘wanted to protect’ her leaders
- Ms Khan underestimated need to substantiate her Aug 3, 2021, speech
- ‘Politically speaking, it was a bad day in the office for us’
- Ms Khan had ‘revered’ Singh
Singapore opposition leader Pritam Singh stands trial for alleged lies under oath
The trial marks the first time in Singapore’s history that an opposition leader has been prosecuted for lying to a parliamentary committee
The landmark trial of Singapore’s opposition leader, who stands accused of lying during a parliamentary committee inquiry, began on Monday.
Pritam Singh, 48, is at the centre of a controversy stemming from former MP Raeesah Khan’s misleading claims to parliament in August 2021 about accompanying a rape victim to a police station.
The Workers’ Party secretary general faces charges related to his testimony during hearings held in December 2021, when he is accused of providing false statements regarding his interactions with Khan, a former party member.
