WP chief Pritam Singh fined $14,000, instructs lawyers to appeal case

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has been fined $14,000 in total, which is the maximum $7,000 for each charge.

The State Court ruled the Workers' Party (WP) chief guilty on two counts of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee, making him the first sitting opposition MP to be convicted of a criminal charge in almost 40 years.

With an upcoming general election that could be held by mid-year, the ruling had put a question mark over Singh's political future.

The Constitution states that a sitting MP will lose his seat and be disqualified from standing for election if he is jailed for at least one year, or fined at least $10,000.

However, the criteria to be disqualified as an MP is based on a sentence imposed for a single offence. Sentences for separate offences cannot be added together, said the Elections Department.

An MP convicted of multiple offences - with a sentence imposed for each not exceeding a year of imprisonment or a fine of $10,000 - will not be disqualified.

Delivering his judgment before a packed courtroom on Feb 17, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan ruled that the Leader of the Opposition had "wilfully" lied to the Committee of Privileges (COP) about how he dealt with the untruth that former WP MP Raeesah Khan told in Parliament on Aug 3, 2021.

Singh did not want Ms Khan to clarify her lie in Parliament when he met her on Aug 8, 2021, and on Oct 3, 2021, the judge said.

Judge Tan added that he accepted Ms Khan's account of her meeting with Singh on Aug 8, 2021, during which she said he told her to take her lie to the grave.

A text message Ms Khan sent her close confidants right after the meeting that said Singh, WP chair Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap have "agreed that the best thing to do is to take the information to the grave" strongly supported Ms Khan's account of what Singh told her at the meeting, the judge said.

Judge Tan cited other evidence that showed Singh had not wanted Ms Khan to clarify her untruth in Parliament at the conclusion of the Aug 8 meeting. Anything that Singh said to the COP to claim otherwise was "a lie that he wilfully told", the judge added.

The judge also found Singh did not want Ms Khan to clarify her lie at the Parliament sitting on Oct 4, 2021, even if it came up that day, stating that his lack of actions that day is consistent with Ms Khan's account of how he told her he would not judge her if she continued the narrative.

Shortly after the sentencing, Singh said he had instructed his lawyers to appeal his case.