SINGAPORE: Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has been found guilty , of giving false testimony to a Committee of Privileges ( COP) about his handling of Raeesah Khan’s lie in parliament.
In a verdict delivered in the State Courts on Monday ( Feb 17 ), Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan , convicted , Singh of the two charges against him.  ,
Singh, 48, was accused of intentionally making two fake solutions to the COP during its investigation into Ms Khan’s event on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021.
The secretary-general of the Workers ‘ Party ( WP ) was charged with falsely testifying that:
- At the conclusion of his meeting with Ms. Khan, WP people Ms. Sylvia Lim, and Mr. Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap on August 8, 2021, Singh demanded that Ms. Khan clarify at some point in congress that what she had previously said regarding accompanying a murder victim to a police station was misleading.
- When Singh spoke to Ms. Khan on October 3, 2021, he wanted to tell her that if the issue came up in parliament the following morning, she had to make it clear that her account of accompanying the murder victim was a rest.
Judge Tan charged that the data demonstrated that the government may struggle to discover the truth given the number of police stations and that the meeting’s conclusion on August 8, 2021, was at the time.
At the same time, Singh, who is a “political senior”, was informed that the rest could result in Ms Khan being brought to the COP, he added, noting the latter’s status as the group’s director public and , Leader of the Opposition.  ,
This evidence demonstrates that Singh had not desired Ms. Khan to at some stage understand the truth in parliament at the conclusion of the meeting on August 8, 2021.
According to Judge Tan,” Any say he made to the COP to the relative was a rest he deliberately told.”
The prosecutor also accepted Ms Khan’s version of events relating to Singh’s next command.  ,
He claimed that the accused “never wanted Ms. Khan to tell the truth if the matter were brought up in parliament the following day.” Singh added that Singh had stated that he “would not no judge” Ms. Khan if she continued the tale.
According to Judge Tan,” Little was done to make her declare to the assembly on October 4, 2021 that she had lied,” adding that Ms. Khan’s profile was supported by previous WP functionaries Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan’s testimony.
Singh may have known on Oct 3, 2021, that Ms Khan had not understand the rest without any planning, said Judge Tan.  ,
Since Singh was aware of this and that “nothing of this type was perhaps attempted” This reinforced the judge’s finish that , on Oct 3, 2021, Singh not wanted Ms Khan to understand her lay the next day, even if the subject came up suddenly.  ,
The prosecutor added that the former was distanced from his role in guiding her in maintaining the falsity at the administrative board hearing that Singh initiated after Ms Khan had come clear in congress.  ,
During the prosecution, Ms. Khan was a trustworthy testimony. Despite making” distinct imperfections” by lying in congress, she showed remorse for her steps, Judge Tan found.  ,
She even provided her evidence openly and did not diminish her significance in the issue, according to the judge.  ,
The prosecutor noted that he didn’t see anything to indicate that Ms Loh and Mr. Nathan had lied in jury despite the defense’s efforts to undermine their trust.
This is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind under the Parliament ( Privileges, Immunities and Powers ) Act.
The punishment for each charge is a maximum jail term of three years, a maximum fine of S$ 7, 000 ( US$ 5, 200 ) or both penalties.