Singapore opposition leader, found guilty of lying to parliament, could face electoral ban
GuardianFEB 19
Singapore Opposition Leader Fined for Lying to Parliament
Above: Opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh appears at the State Court for his verdict trial in Singapore on February 17, 2025. Image copyright: Suhaimi Abdullah/Contributor/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Facts
Pritam Singh, the leader of Singapore's Workers' Party, was found guilty on Monday of two counts of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee investigating a fellow party member's false statements.
Singh was ordered to pay a maximum of SGD 7K ($5,224) for each offense. According to Singapore's constitution, anyone who is fined at least SGD 10K for a single offense or imprisoned for one year is barred from running for office or sitting in parliament for five years.
The case centered on Singh's testimony regarding former MP Raeesah Khan, who had fabricated a story about witnessing the police misconduct towards a sexual assault victim.
The Spin
Narrative A
The prosecution of Singh represents a justified response to dishonesty in parliament, as he willfully provided false statements to a committee inquiring into Khan's case. Singh failed to take sufficient steps to ensure his party member admitted to her falsehood and allegedly told her to 'take the lie to the grave.'
Narrative B
The case against Singh was politically motivated from the start, potentially hampering the evolution of a more balanced political system in Singapore and risking a complete elimination of elected opposition MPs in the upcoming elections.
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