Singapore opposition leader charged with lying to parliament

Singapore’s opposition leader Pritam Singh has been charged with lying under oath to a parliamentary committee.

The charges relate to Mr Singh’s handling of a former lawmaker from his party who lied in parliament in a separate case.

Mr Singh has rejected the accusations. Appearing in court on Tuesday, he said he would contest the charges.

Prosecutors say they intend to ask for fines for Mr Singh, who could also possibly lose his seat in parliament.

In August 2021, MP Raeesah Khan – then a lawmaker from the Workers’ Party – claimed the police had misbehaved towards a sexual assault victim. But she later admitted the anecdote was not true.

Ms Khan was fined for lying and abusing her parliamentary privilege. She has since resigned from the party and vacated her seat.

During a subsequent parliamentary committee investigation into the incident, Mr Singh was called in as a witness and gave testimony pertaining to how he dealt with Ms Khan.

Ms Khan claimed Mr Singh encouraged her to continue her narrative despite finding out it was not true.

Mr Singh has denied this, but also said he had given Ms Khan “too much time to settle herself before closing this issue with her”.

The committee later concluded Mr Singh had not been truthful while speaking to them under oath, and recommended a criminal investigation into Mr Singh’s conduct.

Mr Singh has said he was “unable to accept” the committee’s findings and that he “intends to clear his name”.

According to the charge sheets released on Tuesday, Mr Singh is accused of “wilfully making false [answers]” to the parliamentary committee in relation to Ms Khan’s case,

For each charge, he faces a jail term of up to three years or a maximum fine of S$7,000 (£4,100; $5,200), or both.

In Singapore, MPs who are convicted of an offence could lose their seats and be disqualified from standing for election if they are fined more than S$10,000 or jailed for more than a year.