Singapore opposition leader charged with giving 'false testimony'

According to police and prosecutors, the opposition leader in Singapore was charged on Tuesday with two charges of providing false information before a parliamentary committee when the committee was looking into one of his party members.

The chairman of the Workers’ Party, Pritam Singh, was accused of repeatedly giving “false testimony” before the committee in December 2021. If found guilty, he may be sentenced to up to three years in prison or a fine. The charges were brought before the State Courts.

He is accused of “wilfully making false answers to material questions put to him during examination by the (committee),” police and the prosecution said in a joint statement.

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Singh said on social media that he pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. A spokesman for his party added the next hearing was scheduled for May 10.

“Until the legal process comes to a complete close, I will continue with all my Parliamentary duties and Town Council responsibilities,” Singh wrote in a post on Instagram.

Raeesah Khan, a politician, was at the centre of the proceedings when she accused Singapore police of acting insensitively towards a lady who had been sexually assaulted.

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Khan later acknowledged she had made up the tale, although she had stated at a parliamentary session on women’s empowerment that she had accompanied the lady to the police station to submit a report.

Since then, she has resigned from the party and given up her parliamentary position.

Singh was called as a witness by the parliamentary committee on behalf of the Workers’ Party.

According to the accusations, Singh lied to the committee and said he had wanted Khan to acknowledge that she had made up the story.

“When I first entered politics some years ago now, I was under no illusion as to the challenges that lay ahead in building a more balanced and democratic political system in Singapore,” Singh said on Instagram.

Parliament is dominated by the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore uninterrupted since 1959.

The PAP won 83 seats during the 2020 general elections, with the Workers’ Party taking 10 to hold the largest opposition in the legislature.