Pritam Singh 'intentionally guided' Raeesah to maintain lie in parliament: Prosecution

Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party (WP) MP Pritam Singh arrived at the State Courts on Oct. 14, 2024 at 9:04am to face two charges of lying to Parliament.

Singh's trial arises from his involvement in Raeesah Khan's case.

In front of a packed public gallery, the prosecution presented its opening statement and laid out its case against Singh.

Prosecution: Singh lied to COP about what he wanted Raeesah to do after Aug. 8, 2021 meeting

The prosecution's opening statement included a chronology of events, beginning with Aug. 3, 2021, when Raeesah recounted the false anecdote regarding accompanying a victim of sexual assault to the police station in parliament.

For Singh's first charge, he is accused of falsely testifying that as at the conclusion of a meeting with Raeesah Khan, WP Chair Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap on Aug. 8, 2021, he wanted Raeesah to, at some point, clarify in parliament that what she told MPs on Aug. 3, 2021 about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station was untrue.

On this, the prosecution said Singh had lied to the COP about what he wanted Raeesah to do in relation to the untruth when he discussed the matter with her on Aug. 8, 2021

The prosecution said that this was consistent with the fact that between Aug. 8, 2021 and Oct. 3, 2021, Singh and Raeesah never discussed the untruth, let alone the fact that it ought to be clarified in parliament.

Aug. 9 to Oct. 2, 2021: "Not a whisper from him".

On Aug. 7, 2021, Singh called Raeesah and pressed her for further details about her anecdote, upon which she admitted that the incident she recounted did not occur. Singh then apparently hung up the phone.

On Aug. 8, 2021, a meeting was held at Singh's home, with both Lim and Faisal in attendance. Raeesah had also been invited to the meeting.

The prosecution, however, argued that from Aug. 9 to Oct. 2 2021, Singh had not met with Raeesah to discuss the matter of her untruth uttered in parliament.

"Not a whisper from him," the prosecution said. "It's as if the matter has been buried."

In the evening of Oct. 3, 2021, Singh visited Raeesah at her home, and they discussed the prospect of her anecdote being brought up in parliament, which was scheduled to sit the next day on Oct. 4.

Singh apparently pulled Raeesah aside for a private chat, and told her that it was possible that the anecdote she shared would be brought up the next day.

The prosecution said Singh "intentionally guided" Raeesah to maintain the untruth even if it came up in parliament, and gave her the impression that she could choose to continue with the untrue narrative, saying he would not judge her.

Prosecution: Singh lied to COP about what he told Raeesah to do on Oct. 3, 2021

Singh is alleged to have falsely testified to the COP on Dec. 10, 2021 and Dec. 15, 2021, that when he spoke to Raeesah on Oct. 3, 2021, he wanted her to admit to having lied to Parliament about the original anecdote if the issue were to come up in parliament the next day.

This is the second charge brought against him.

On the second charge, the prosecution said that Singh had lied to the COP and argued that there was no way Singh intended for the untruth to be clarified in parliament the next day, given how there were no preparatory steps taken.

They highlighted that there was no clarificatory statement prepared for or by Raeesah.

This was contrasted with the careful preparations undertaken over more than two weeks from Oct. 12 to Oct. 31, 2021, for Raeesah's eventual clarification on Nov. 1, 2021.

Oct. 4 to 11, 2021: Untruth maintained in parliament

On Oct. 4, 2021, Raeesah was asked in parliament for further details regarding her anecdote by Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam.

In court today (Oct. 14) the prosecution produced a WhatsApp message allegedly sent on Oct. 4, 2021, by Raeesah to Singh, who was sitting in the chamber in parliament at the time. In the message, Raeesah wrote: "What should I do pritam".

Singh did not reply to Raeesah's message at the time. In the meantime, Raeesah maintained the untruth while replying to Shanmugam's queries.

The prosecution argued that up to Oct. 11, 2021, none of the party leaders instructed Raeesah to clarify the untruth with the Police or in parliament.

The prosecution argued that Singh believed that the matter would not be brought up again, and that the party leaders had agreed to "take it to the grave".

Oct. 11, 2021: Low Thia Khiang urged WP leaders to clarify untruth

The prosecution said that on Oct. 11, Singh and Lim met with Low Thia Khiang at his house, where he was informed that Raeesah's anecdote was untrue.

The prosecution said that Low had told them that Raeesah should clarify her lie as soon as possible.

The prosecution added it would produce evidence from Low on the advice he gave to Singh and Lim, and the exchange they had during the meeting.

Low is expected to testify as a prosecution witness.

Singh was "attempting to downplay his own responsibility" in the matter

The prosecution said Singh's alleged false testimony to the COP came about as he had been "attempting to downplay his own responsibility" in the matter, as it became clear that the COP had concerns over his role in Raeesah's actions, including how he and other WP leaders had guided Raeesah after finding out that she lied.

"The totality of the evidence will demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had falsely testified on the two matters set out in the charges, and the accused ought therefore to be convicted of both the charges," the prosecution said.

Background

Singh and Raeesah were among several people who testified before the Committee of Privileges (COP) formed to look into her telling untruths in parliament in August and October 2021.

The COP sanctioned Raeesah for her untruths and concluded that Singh, along with fellow WP leaders Faisal Manap and Sylvia Lim had been "untruthful in their evidence, under oath, to this committee".

He's accused of falsely testifying that at the conclusion of an Aug. 8, 2021 meeting with Raeesah, Lim, and Faisal, he wanted Raeesah to clarify in parliament that she had lied about having accompanied a rape victim to a police station.

He was also alleged to have falsely testified that when he spoke to Raeesah on Oct. 3, 2021, he wanted her to admit to having lied to Parliament about the original anecdote, if the issue were to come up in the sitting the next day.

He pleaded not guilty and a 16-day trial has been scheduled to take place between Oct. 14 and Nov. 13.

Aside from Singh, Raeesah also made her appearance at the state courts on Oct. 14 as a key witness.

Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang will also be testifying as a prosecution witness for Singh's trial.

Other key witnesses include former WP cadre members Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan, who had previously testified to the COP.

Several WP members, including Sengkang GRC MPs Louis Chua, He Ting Ru, and Jamus Lim, as well as Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam, were also spotted in the public gallery.

Follow our live updates from Day 1 of the trial here:

Top photo from Andrew Koay/Mothership.