Singapore court fines opposition leader for lying to parliament
SINGAPORE—A Singapore court on Monday found opposition party leader Pritam Singh guilty on two counts of lying to parliament, handing down fines that spared him a loss of his seat and a ban from this year’s general election.
Singh, leader of the Workers’ Party (WP), received two fines of S$7,000 ($5,231), which were below the threshold of S$10,000 per offense outlined in the Constitution for a lawmaker to lose their seat and be barred from public office for five years.
Singh, 48, said the verdict was disappointing and he would appeal the decision. The ruling could dent the image of the Workers’ Party as it gears up for a general election due by November this year, having made inroads against the ruling People’s Action Party in the last contest in 2020, when it expanded its parliamentary seats to 10 from six.
The Workers’ Party has since suffered blows from the resignations of two lawmakers, one over a false statement to parliament and another stepping down over an extramarital affair.
No follow-up
The charges against Singh stemmed from allegations he gave false testimony to a parliamentary committee in 2021 about a fellow party member, Raeesah Khan, lying to parliament.
Singh had maintained he had urged Khan to own up to parliament about her lie, but Judge Luke Tan on Monday said there was ample evidence and witness testimony to prove otherwise.
“Ms. Khan admitted to other WP leaders she had lied, there was absolutely no follow-up from the accused,” Tan told the court. “This could only be because the accused had mentioned that this, and quote, was ‘probably something we would have to take to the grave.’”
The verdict comes as Singapore gears up for a general election that must be held by November, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first since taking over as the city state’s leader last year.
