ibetph Day 1 of Pritam Singh's trial: Prosecution reveals case and witness list, Raeesah Khan on the stand

SINGAPORE: Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh went on trial on Monday (Oct 14) in a closely watched caseibetph, contesting two charges for essentially lying in parliament when being questioned over former Workers' Party (WP) member Raeesah Khan's own lies.

Ms Khan had lied in parliament twice in 2021 about accompanying a rape victim to a police station, where a police officer allegedly made comments about the woman's attire and consumption of alcohol.

Here is all you need to know about what went down on the first day of the trial - an unprecedented prosecution for "wilfully" giving false answers to a Committee of Privileges (COP) under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

Singh, a 48-year-old father of two, is accused of making the following two lies before the COP on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021:

At the conclusion of his meeting with Ms Khan and WP members Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap on Aug 8, 2021, Singh wanted Ms Khan to clarify at some point in parliament that what she had said about accompanying a rape victim to a police station was untrue; and When Singh spoke to Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, he wanted to convey to Ms Khan that if the issue came up in parliament the next day, she had to clarify that her story about accompanying the rape victim was a lie.THE PROSECUTION'S VOLLEYS

The team of prosecutors, led by former High Court justice and current Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock, revealed their case in a lengthy opening statement on Monday morning.

Mr Ang, a senior counsel, charged that Singh had given false testimony before the COP in order to downplay his responsibility in the matter of Ms Khan's lie.

Singh had first discovered that her anecdote about accompanying the rape victim was untrue in a phone call with Ms Khan on Aug 7, 2021.

A day later, Singh met with Ms Khan, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal Manap at Singh's home. They first discussed the fallout from Ms Khan's speech on Muslim issues including polygamy and female genital cutting, before moving to the issue of Ms Khan's lie.

The prosecution said it was clear to Ms Khan from the meeting that her party leaders did not want her to clarify the untruth, and that she should leave the matter be.

Ms Khan did not attend parliamentary sittings in September as she was down with shingles.

The deputy attorney-general charged that Singh had guided Ms Khan during another meeting on Oct 3, 2021, to maintain the lie if the matter was raised in parliament the next day.

The prosecution also tendered a list of its intended witnesses.

Related:WP ex-chief Low Thia Khiang to testify for prosecution in Pritam Singh trial

These include former WP chief Low Thia Khiang, and two former WP cadres who were Ms Khan's close confidantes: Ms Loh Pei Ying and Mr Yudhishthra Nathan.

Ms Loh was formerly secretarial assistant to Ms Khan, and secretarial assistant to Singh from March 2013 to January 2016. 

Mr Nathan was a party volunteer and secretary of Sengkang Constituency Committee, which Ms Khan chaired. Both have since resigned from the party.

MS KHAN ON THE STAND 

Ms Khan took the stand on Monday morning as the first witness for the prosecution. She is expected to testify for the next few days at least.

She appeared nervous at first, but answered questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor Sivakumar Ramasamy readilyibetph, sighing at some points when asked about her lie.

Former Workers’ Party member Raeesah Khan arrives at the State Courts on Oct 14, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

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