SINGAPORE, Mar 19: The leader of Singapore’s opposition was charged today with two counts of giving false testimony before a parliamentary committee during a probe into one of his party members, police and prosecutors said.
Pritam Singh, head of the Worker’s Party, was charged at the State Courts for having twice “falsely testified” before the committee in December 2021.
“He is accused of willfully making false answers to material questions put to him during examination by the committee,” police and the prosecution said in a joint statement.
If found guilty, he faces a fine of imprisonment not exceeding three years.
Singh said on social media on Tuesday that he pleaded not guilty. 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.
The hearings revolved around parliamentarian Raeesah Khan, who had accused Singapore police of insensitive behaviour toward a female sexual assault victim.
Khan claimed during a parliamentary session on empowering women to have gone with the woman to the police station to file a report but later admitted she made up the story.
She has since vacated her parliamentary seat and resigned from the party.
As the Workers’ Party chief, Singh was invited to the parliamentary committee as a witness, where he falsely told the committee that he had wanted Khan to admit she had made up the story, according to the charges. -TVS
