Pritam Singh Appeals Conviction at Supreme Court

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh appeared at the Supreme Court on Nov 4 to appeal his February conviction and S$14,000 fine for two counts of giving false testimony to the Committee of Privileges over his handling of former Workers’ Party MP Raeesah Khan’s false account. He was found guilty after a 13-day trial under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act and received the maximum S$7,000 fine per charge; the Act also provides for possible jail terms. The Committee had earlier found him untruthful under oath and the February judgment said he wilfully misled the committee and encouraged Khan to continue the false statements. Singh pleaded not guilty at trial, said he would appeal, and attended the Nov 4 hearing with lawyers Andre Jumabhoy and Aristotle Eng; his appeal will be heard by Justice Steven Chong. Despite the conviction, Singh retained his parliamentary seat in the recent general election.