Round Two

Singaporean opposition leader Pritam Singh appeared before a court Monday for allegedly lying during a parliamentary committee investigation, the latest political scandal to rock the Southeast Asian city-state’s politics in recent months, Bloomberg reported.

Singh, leader of the Worker’s Party (WP), is charged with two counts of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee investigating a lawmaker in his party. He has pled not guilty to the charges.

The case began in 2021 when parliament’s Committee of Privileges launched a probe against WP lawmaker Raeesah Khan, who claimed that she accompanied a rape victim to file a police report.

Khan said the officers at the precinct supposedly made insensitive comments about the victim’s attire and alcohol consumption. However, she later admitted to lying and was expelled from parliament, according to Channel News Asia.

Singaporean prosecutors accused Singh of knowing about Khan’s lie early on. If convicted, the opposition leader could face a maximum penalty of three years in prison or a fine of up to 7,000 Singaporean dollars (US$5,360) per charge.

Singapore’s constitution mandates that a legislator fined at least S$10,000, or imprisoned for a year or more, is disqualified from serving in parliament.

The trial puts the WP party under more scrutiny ahead of upcoming elections, expected to be held before November 2025. The opposition party has positioned itself as being able to check on the governing People’s Action Party (PAP) that has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965.

In the 2020 elections, PAP secured 89 percent of legislative seats, a victory that analysts nonetheless described as its worst showing. Meanwhile, WP won a record 10 seats.

Observers noted that the case also comes during a period of growing scrutiny of political accountability and parliamentary integrity in Singapore. Singh’s trial came about a week after former Transport Minister S. Iswaran was jailed for graft and obstruction of justice – the first official to be imprisoned in the history of the nation, which has a reputation for clean governance and transparency.