[Update at Jul. 19, 2023: The Workers' Party leader Pritam Singh said in a press conference that he first heard of the alleged affair in late 2020 or early 2021.]

According to media outlets, the leaders of the Workers' Party (WP) have been aware of an alleged extramarital affair between their senior members Leon Perera and Nicole Seah since 2021.

Leaders knew

The Straits Times (ST) and AsiaOne quoted multiple unnamed sources in their Jul. 18, 2023 reports, stating that the Leader of the Opposition (LO) Pritam Singh, WP chairman Sylvia Lim, and Members of Parliament (MPs) Jamus Lim and Gerald Giam are amongst those who knew of the affair.

AsiaOne quoted a man claiming to have been Perera's personal driver for over 11 years, and reported that Perera and Seah allegedly frequented hotels together.

The driver said he raised the matter to Singh in 2020.

Singh apparently acknowledged the man and said "okay" but did not take any action, the driver alleged.

The driver was allegedly fired shortly after in 2021, and believes he was let go because of what he told Singh.

Suspicions began in 2020

However, people began whispering about the alleged extramarital affair between the two earlier in 2020.

ST reported seeing text messages regarding the pair's relations that were sent to Sylvia Lim and Jamus Lim.

When asked about these messages on Jul. 17, 2023, Singh said he would address this "in one go" when updating the media.

Singh and 12 other WP leaders, including former WP chief Low Thia Khiang, held a late-night meeting on Jul. 17 that ended shortly before midnight.

Perera and Seah were not in attendance, and the former was not seen during his meet-the-people session earlier in the evening too.

Press conference on Jul. 19

In a statement issued to Mothership on Jul. 18, WP said it will be holding a press conference at 1pm on Jul. 19 at its headquarters in Geylang.

The press conference comes after its Jul. 17 statement, when it said it is looking into a video suggesting "inappropriate conduct" between its senior members.

In the roughly 15-second clip, two individuals who appear to resemble Perera and Seah can be seen at a restaurant holding hands.

WP said then that it will comment once it has the facts.

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Top image from Facebook of The Workers' Party and Victoria Wang