Singapore’s High Court dismisses Pritam Singh’s appeal, upholding his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee over a fabricated rape story.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s High Court has upheld the conviction of opposition leader Pritam Singh for lying to a parliamentary committee.
The court dismissed his appeal on Thursday, affirming a February district court ruling that found him guilty on two counts.
The charges stemmed from a committee investigating a false account given by then-MP Raeesah Khan, who admitted to fabricating a story about accompanying a rape victim to file a police report.
High Court judge Steven Chong said the conviction on both charges was “sound”.
He stated that Workers’ Party leaders, including Singh, were engaged in “an exercise of risk assessment and/or damage control” rather than urging Khan to quickly admit her lie.
Singh was fined S$7,000 for each charge, narrowly avoiding disqualification from May’s elections where he retained his seat.
Under the constitution, a fine of at least S$10,000 per charge or a jail term of at least one year would have disqualified him.
Singh said he was “disappointed” with the decision but respected and accepted it.
He is the first sitting opposition MP to be convicted of a criminal charge in almost 40 years, according to The Straits Times.
The People’s Action Party won 87 of 97 seats in May’s election, extending its six-decade rule, while the Workers’ Party kept 10.
