WP chief Pritam Singh charged: Key events in Raeesah Khan lying case

Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh was charged on March 19 with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee, two years after the police opened investigations into his conduct before the Committee of Privileges.

The charges relate to his testimony before the committee, which had been convened in November 2021 to look into a lying controversy involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.

The committee had called Singh as a witness and said later that he had not been truthful during the hearings while under oath. It recommended referring him to the public prosecutor for further investigations with a view to consider criminal proceedings. Parliament endorsed the recommendation.

Here is a timeline of key events so far, based on testimony of Ms Khan and other WP members before the Committee of Privileges.

Aug 3, 2021

In a speech in Parliament, Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan said she had accompanied a rape victim to a police station three years ago, where an officer made comments about the victim’s dressing and the fact that she had been drinking.

When pressed for more details by Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan, she declined to provide more details.

Aug 7

Ms Khan admitted to Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh that she had lied in Parliament on Aug 3. She also told her secretarial assistant Loh Pei Ying and WP volunteer Yudhishthra Nathan about the untruth, and described it as one of the worst things she had done in her life.

Aug 8

Ms Khan confessed to all three senior WP leaders - Mr Singh, party chairman Sylvia Lim and party vice-chairman Faisal Manap – that she had lied in Parliament on Aug 3. She was told to “retain the narrative that she began in August”, and specifically by Mr Singh to “take it to the grave”.

Aug 10

Mr Singh met Ms Loh and Mr Nathan on a separate matter. He confirmed that he was aware of Ms Khan’s Aug 3 lie.

Aug 8 to Oct 3

There was no further discussion between any of the three senior WP leaders – either among themselves, or with Ms Khan – about how and when to clarify the untruth.

Oct 3

Mr Singh and his wife visited Ms Khan at her home. He told Ms Khan the matter may arise in Parliament the next day and told her that if she were to retain or continue with the narrative – the lie she had told – “there would be no judgement” on her.

Oct 4

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam pressed Ms Khan for details of the incident in Parliament. When this happened, she texted Mr Singh to seek guidance on what she should do, but he did not answer her immediately.

She repeated her lie and again declined to reveal any further details, citing confidentiality concerns.

Later that afternoon, Ms Lim met Ms Khan at about 3pm. She told Ms Khan to seek legal advice on any potential request by the police for assistance.

Mr Singh and Ms Lim met Ms Khan later at 11.15pm. Ms Khan suggested: “Perhaps there is another way. That is, to tell the truth.” Neither Mr Singh nor Ms Lim told her to tell the truth.

Oct 7

Ms Khan forwarded a police request to interview her to the three senior WP leaders. In the e-mail, she thanked the three of them for “guiding me through this without judgment”.

Oct 12

By this date, Mr Singh and Ms Lim had concluded that the matter was not going to go away.

At a meeting with Ms Khan, Ms Lim and Mr Singh told her directly – for the first time – to clarify the truth in Parliament.

After the meeting, Ms Khan told Ms Loh and Mr Nathan that she had decided to clarify the truth, in accordance with Ms Lim and Mr Singh’s latest guidance.

Ms Loh requested to meet Mr Singh to discuss what Ms Khan should say in Parliament, and how she should convey the truth.

Ms Loh and Mr Nathan met Mr Singh later that day. At the meeting, Mr Singh recounted that he told Ms Khan on Oct 3 that he had a feeling Ms Khan’s Aug 3 statement might come up in Parliament again and that he had said “I will not judge you”.

Ms Loh and Mr Nathan understood from Mr Singh that he had left it to Ms Khan, and she could continue with the lie.

Thereafter, Ms Khan worked with Mr Singh, Ms Lim, Ms Loh and Mr Nathan to prepare her clarification for Parliament. Her draft clarification was also reviewed by the WP’s central executive committee.

Oct 20

The police said in a statement that Ms Khan had not responded to their requests for an interview and that they had not been able to identify the case she mentioned despite an extensive search.

Nov 1

Ms Khan clarified in Parliament that she had lied on Aug 3 and Oct 4. She said she had been sexually assaulted herself and had heard about the victim’s experience at a support group session she attended.

Leader of the House Indranee Rajah referred her to the Committee of Privileges.

Mr Singh issued a statement on the same day, noting that Ms Khan’s decision to set the record straight in Parliament was the correct thing to do. He did not mention the three leaders’ involvement in or knowledge of the matter to date.

Nov 2

The WP formed a disciplinary panel - comprising Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal - to look into the matter. Party members were invited to come forward to share their views.

Nov 29

The Committee of Privileges met for the first time.

Nov 30

Ms Khan resigned from the WP, and as an MP.

Dec 2

He said the party had given her time to clarify the matter in Parliament as they sympathised with her and wanted to let her talk to her family about it.

Dec 2, 3

Ms Khan and three other WP members – Ms Loh, legislative assistant Lim Hang Ling, and Mr Nathan – appeared before the Committee of Privileges.

The committee released its first special report on the case. It contained Ms Khan’s testimony that the three WP leaders had told her there was no need to clarify the lie, if she and the WP could get away with it.

This was corroborated by Ms Loh’s and Mr Nathan’s testimony that Ms Khan had told them the party leaders asked her to “take it to the grave”

Dec 9

Mr Faisal appeared before the committee.

Dec 10

Dec 11

The committee released its second special report.

Mr Faisal told the committee he had two meetings with Mr Singh and Ms Lim before the hearing, but refused to give details about what was discussed when asked.

He was told by the committee that it could constitute contempt of Parliament.

Dec 12

The committee released its third special report.

Mr Singh denied asking Ms Khan to take the lie “to the grave” and suggested that Ms Khan could have told Ms Loh and Mr Nathan that due to her mental state.

Dec 13

Dec 14

The committee released its fourth report.

Ms Lim said she and Mr Singh met Ms Khan on Oct 4. She added that she did not think it was possible for Ms Khan to clarify the lie as the party would need time to craft the clarification for her.

Dec 15

Mr Singh is called back before the committee to submit further evidence. He maintained that he had expected Ms Khan to clarify the matter in Parliament and had not asked her to lie.

Dec 17 and 20

Ms Khan underwent a psychiatric assessment with Dr Christopher Cheok, acting chief of the department of forensic psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health and a psychiatrist by training.

Dec 22

Ms Khan is called back before the committee. Dr Cheok also testified.

Feb 10, 2022

The Committee of Privileges released its 1,180-page report to Parliament.

Feb 15

Parliament debated the motion on the report. A total of 10 MPs spoke, including three from WP and two Nominated MPs.

In his speech during the debate, Mr Singh said the committee did not appear to want to get to the bottom of why Ms Khan lied in Parliament, and that what it had instead focused on was Ms Khan’s “uncorroborated testimony” that she had been instructed to take her lie to the grave by the WP leadership.

Mr Singh called this a fabrication, and that he intended to clear his name.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged MPs from both sides of the aisle to vote with their conscience.

After four hours, the House voted to fine Ms Khan $35,000 and to refer Mr Singh and Mr Faisal to the public prosecutor for further investigations into their conduct at the committee’s hearings.

Apr 29

Police issued a statement, saying that they had gone through evidence provided by Parliament on the conduct of Mr Singh and Mr Faisal, and would now get in touch with people relevant to the case.

Feb 7, 2023

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said the police were still in the process of investigating the conduct of Mr Singh and Mr Faisal. He was responding to a parliamentary question.

March 19, 2024

 

Mr Singh was charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee.

In a statement, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said it decided not to charge Mr Faisal after having considered the totality of the evidence.

Instead, the police issued an advisory to Mr Faisal on March 18 that he should familiarise himself with the conduct expected of MPs and to refrain from breaching the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

The AGC said Mr Faisal had acknowledged the advisory.