Singapore confirms opposition leader's lying conviction

SINGAPORE,

On Thursday, Singapore's High Court upheld opposition leader Pritam Singh's conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee while helping cover up a false account by a fellow party member.

Pritam Singh, 49, the Workers' Party's secretary-general, had appealed a February district court decision that found him guilty of two counts of lying to the committee investigating Raeesah Khan, a rookie MP.

Khan admitted to making up a story she told in the legislature about accompanying a rape victim to file a police report.

The district court ruled that, contrary to what Singh told the committee, he had not done enough to persuade Khan to admit her lie in parliament.

Singh was fined Sg$7,000 ($5,400) for each charge, narrowly avoiding disqualification from the May elections, where he retained his seat.

The People's Action Party won 87 of the 97 seats, extending its six-decade rule, while the Workers' Party retained 10.

According to the constitution, anyone fined a minimum of Sg$10,000 per charge or imprisoned for at least one year is barred from running for election or holding a parliamentary seat for five years.

"The appellant's conviction on both charges is accordingly sound, and his appeal is dismissed," High Court judge Steven Chong wrote in his decision on Thursday.

Chong claimed that Workers' Party leaders, including Singh, were "essentially engaged in an exercise of risk assessment and/or damage control" rather than demanding Khan quickly admit she had lied.

Singh said he was "disappointed" by the decision, but he respected and accepted it.

According to The Straits Times, he is the first sitting opposition MP to be convicted of a crime in nearly four decades.