About a month after S Iswaran was hauled to court to face his charges, another high-profile politician was in court to answer his charges, and similar to Iswaran, he had pleaded not guilty.
At 11am this morning, Workers’ Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh, who’s also the Leader of the Opposition, was in court to answer his charges after the police opened investigations into his conduct before the Committee of Privileges for Raeesah Khan’s lie in Parliament.
That was due to Mr Singh’s conduct back in November 2021, when the committee called him, alongside other WP members, as a witness.
The committee said later that he had not been truthful during the hearings while under oath.
He, together with WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap, was referred to the public prosecutor for further investigations and was then faced with the prospects of criminal proceedings.
And today, we get to know the results of the investigations.
What He Was Charged With
Mr Singh was give two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.
Mr Singh was said to have given a false answer to the committee’s questions on 10 Dec and 15 December 2021.
According to charge sheets, the first alleged false answer was when Singh allegedly falsely testified on 10 Dec 2021 that after a meeting with Ms Khan, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap on 8 August 2021, he wanted Ms Khan to tell parliament that what she told the MPs on 3 August 2021.
He is also accused of falsely testifying on 10 Dec and 15 Dec 2021 that when he spoke to Ms Khan on 3 Oct 2021, he had wanted her to admit to having lied in parliament.
If you’ve forgotten about the case, Mr Singh had said that he knew about Ms Khan’s lie in Parliament, and simply put, Mr Singh claimed he had wanted Ms Khan to admit to the lie in Parliament, but Ms Khan claimed otherwise.
Mr Singh, after a short hearing this morning, pleaded not guilty. He is unrepresented, and requested a four-week adjournment to engage a lawyer.
The judge fixed the pre-trial conference hearing for 17 April 2024.
Nevertheless, despite each charge carrying a jail-term of up to three years and fine of up to $7,000, the prosecution isn’t seeking for a jail term.
They said, “As we have informed Mr Pritam Singh, the prosecution’s position, based on the evidence presently available and considering the totality of the circumstances, is that we will be asking the court to impose a fine for each of the charges, if Mr Singh is convicted.”
Of course, eventually, it will be up to the court to determine the punishment.
Before May 2022, an MP could lose his seat and also not run for elections for five years if they are jailed for at least one year or fined at least $2,000.
The fine quantum for disqualification has since increased to at least $10,000.
Having said that, the maximum fine Mr Singh could face for the two charges Is $7,000 X 2, which is at $14,000.
Mr Singh has since posted a media statement.
He said he was charged on 18 March morning, and attended court today (19 March).
Like what was reported, he pleaded not guilty and has claimed trial.
He said, “Until the legal process comes to a complete close, I will continue with all my Parliamentary duties and Town Council responsibilities – including, but not limited to, Meet-the-People sessions, estate walks, house visits, Hammer outreaches, amongst others.”
Now, how about Mr Faisal?
Shortly after Mr Singh’s hearing, the police and the AGC said that they would not be pressing charges against Mr Faisal for his refusal to answer relevant questions that had been put to him by the Committee of Privileges after they “considered the totality of the evidence.”
They have instead “issued an advisory to Mr Faisal Manap on Mar 18, 2024 to advise him to familiarise himself with the conduct expected of Members of Parliament under the (Parliament) Act and to refrain from any act that may be in breach of it.”
