Prosecution says Pritam guided Raeesah to lie, Pritam says he was taking ‘sensitive’ approach

As the trial against the Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh, entered its 12th day, the prosecution continued to grill Singh for a second day.

The Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general was questioned on how he handled the situation once it became known that former WP member of parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan lied about an anecdote she shared in parliament.

The prosecution examined Singh's phrasing when he told Raeesah that he would not judge her for coming forward about her untruth, and brought up an email sent by Raeesah where she thanked Singh for not judging her.

Sensitive to the situation

Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock pointed out that it would not have been hard for Singh to tell Raeesah the truth in parliament on Oct. 4, 2021, after Raeesah made her false statement, regardless of whether the issue came up.

“I could have done many things, I agree,” Singh said, but he added that his approach to the situation was to be sensitive towards Raeesah.

He also expected her to come up with the truth on her own.

However, he admitted in hindsight that things should have “moved faster”.

Ang questioned Singh about his meeting with other WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap on Aug. 8, 2021, the day after Singh discovered Raeesah’s lie.

Lim arrived at Singh’s house first, where he told her about the lie before Raeesah and Faisal joined them.

Ang pressed Singh on what the leaders had said to Raeesah, asking if Singh had “articulated out loud” that Raeesah had to correct her lie in Parliament.

While Singh said no, he “distinctly” recalled telling Raeesah to inform her parents about her sexual assault experience, and added that he believed the lie could be clarified in Parliament later.

Ang then questioned Singh on whether, by telling Raeesah to talk to her parents, Singh expected Raeesah to know she had to come clean in parliament at some point.

Singh agreed, pointing out that Raeesah was an MP who should have known that “you cannot lie in parliament".

“I won’t judge you”

Ang went on to dissect Singh’s phrasing when he told Raeesah on Oct. 3 that he “would not judge” her if she came clean about the issue.

Ang pointed out that Singh said Raeesah looked “visibly relieved” when Singh told her to tell the truth in parliament.

“So you’re saying that you were telling her to tell the truth tomorrow. She knows she’s going to the Committee of Privileges (COP), and she looks visibly relieved.

‘Oh, thank God, I’m going to the COP!’ She’s thinking that!”

Singh refuted the suggestion, saying Ang missed the point as he told Raeesah he would not judge her after she “looked a bit uncomfortable”.

After that comment, Singh said Raeesah looked relieved.

“And I took that to understand that she understood what I was saying,” he said.

Ang and Singh continued back and forth on this line of questioning before Deputy District Judge Luke Tan asked Singh to clarify the context in which Singh told Raeesah he would not judge her.

Singh answered that he believed Raeesah was concerned when asked to admit her lie. Hence, he told her he would not judge her in an attempt to assuage her and get her to tell the truth.

The judge then clarified that Singh said Raeesah “looked relieved” that Singh, as the secretary-general of WP, would not form a negative opinion of her, to which Singh agreed.

Ang went on to state that people often use the phrase “I will not judge you” when someone is about to admit something bad, but Singh disagreed.

Ang gave Singh the example of someone wanting to skip work the next day, saying:

“You tell your friend ‘Aiyah, I think I’m going to get a [Medical Certificate] so I can skip work tomorrow, and your friend will say ‘Okay, go ahead, I won’t judge you.'”

“I’ve never heard that before, but I disagree,” Singh responded, sitting back and crossing his arms, with laughter heard from the public gallery.

Ang accused Singh of guiding Raeesah to continue her untruth by telling her to go ahead and do something wrong by continuing the narrative.

Singh, still with crossed arms, said he disagreed “completely”.

Raeesah thanked Singh for dealing with the matter "without judgment"

Ang moved on to an email Raeesah sent to the WP leaders on Oct. 7, 2021, informing them the police had requested an interview with her.

In the email, Raeesah thanked Singh for “listening to me, for caring for me, and for guiding me through this without judgment.”

Ang said that one would get the impression that Raeesah thought Singh was guiding her, especially after Singh did not reply to the email.

He asked if Singh had not replied to Raeesah’s email because she had been following his guidance to continue with the narrative, and if Raeesah had thus thanked him for “not judging her” after she continued lying on Oct. 4.

Ang suggested that Singh could have clarified with Raeesah then and there that he had not meant for her to continue lying on Oct. 4.

Singh said he did not agree, and explained that he did not reply to the email as it was “very frustrating to read it considering what she had done on Oct. 4”.

“Mr Singh, I would have to put it to you that your evidence is utterly incredible," said Ang.

Singh disagreed.

Singh's questioning continues.

Top photo via Mothership