WP chief Pritam Singh’s trial set for Oct 14
The trial of opposition leader and Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh is slated for October and November, court records on May 31 show.
Singh, 47, was on March 19 charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.
The committee called Singh as a witness, and said later he had not been truthful in his testimony while under oath.
Singh’s trial is set to start on Oct 14 and will go on for a period of 16 days till Nov 13. The trial will be presided by Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan.
The Straits Times has contacted Singh’s lawyer, Mr Andre Jumabhoy, for more information.
On Nov 1, 2021, Ms Khan admitted to lying in Parliament at an earlier sitting about details of a sexual assault case that she had alleged was mishandled by the police. She resigned on Nov 30, 2021.
The parliamentary committee recommended referring Singh and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap to the public prosecutor for further investigations with a view to considering criminal proceedings, which Parliament later endorsed.
Singh allegedly gave false answers to the committee’s questions on Dec 10 and 15, 2021.
On one occasion, he allegedly said that after an Aug 8, 2021, meeting between him, Ms Khan and WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Faisal, he wanted Ms Khan to clarify in Parliament that what she told it on Aug 3 about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station was untrue.
On two other occasions, he allegedly said that during a meeting with Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, he had asked her to come clean about her lie if the issue was brought up in the House on Oct 4.
In a joint statement on March 19, the AGC and police said the prosecution decided not to charge Mr Faisal over his refusal to answer relevant questions that had been put to him by the committee.
The WP MP was issued an advisory by the police to familiarise himself with conduct expected of MPs under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, and to refrain from any act that may be in breach of it.
Lying in response to questions posed by a parliamentary committee is considered a criminal offence under the Act, and carries a maximum fine of $7,000 or a jail term of up to three years, or both.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now