Pritam Singh's appeal against conviction for lying to Parliament set for Nov 4
PETALING JAYA : The appeal hearing for Singapore's Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh, who was convicted earlier this year of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee, has been scheduled for Nov 4.
Pritam's lawyer, Andre Jumabhoy, confirmed the date, The Straits Times reported.
On Feb 17, the Aljunied GRC MP was fined S$14,000 after being found guilty of two charges of wilfully lying to the Committee of Privileges, making him Singapore's first sitting opposition MP in nearly four decades to be convicted of a criminal offence.
The opposition leader received the maximum fine of S$7,000 for each charge and said at the time that he would appeal both the conviction and sentence.
In his ruling, deputy principal district judge Luke Tan found that Pritam had lied about how he handled the false claims made by former WP MP Raeesah Khan in Parliament on Aug 3, 2021.
Raeesah falsely told the House she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station. She repeated the claim on Oct 4 that year before eventually admitting it was untrue.
The 13-day trial began on Oct 14, 2024, with Pritam, Raeesah and other former WP officials taking the stand.
While the defence portrayed Raeesah as a habitual liar, prosecutors led by then deputy attorney-general Ang Cheng Hock argued that Pritam had attempted to cover up his own role in the matter.
Despite the conviction, Pritam retained his seat in Parliament after the recent general election, in which WP held on to Aljunied GRC with 59.68% of the vote, defeating PAP, which received 40.32%.
Following the election, prime minister Lawrence Wong said Pritam would remain as leader of the opposition and continue to receive staff and resources to carry out his responsibilities.
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