COP releases report: What's next for WP leaders Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap?

The cloud hanging over Workers' Party (WP) leaders Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap looks set to stay longer. 

The three opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) had been subjected to an inquiry by the Committee of Privileges (COP) in December 2021 over their conduct, in relation to the lies told by former MP Raeesah Khan during Parliament.

And now, they could find themselves liable to more serious charges in the court of law. A COP report released on Thursday (Feb 10) said it has found reasons to believe that the three leaders had failed to be truthful in their testimonies to the committee.

It stated that it will refer Singh to the Attorney-General "for his conduct before the Committee", which signals that criminal proceedings may be launched against him. It has also made similar recommendations for Faisal, due to his "refusal to answer relevant questions put by the Committee".

The committee added that it recommends that Lim's issue in relation to lying under oath in Parliament as well as Faisal's case be deferred until after "investigations and/or criminal proceedings" against Singh are completed. 

In its report, the committee also stated that for Khan's lies made in Parliament last year, it recommends that she be fined $25,000 for the first offence on Aug 3 and $10,000 for repeating the lie on Oct 4.

Possible charges 

With the recommendation to move the case to the courts, the party leaders are likely to face further investigation in the court of law. 

The suspension of the parliamentary privileges and immunities for MPs means that Singh and Faisal can face criminal proceedings for anything that they said in Parliament.

So what happens next and what are the offences that the two could be found guilty of contravening?

Some of the offences listed under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, include the following, which covers false answers made before Parliament or a committee:

The statutes state that any person who contravenes the section of the Act listed above may be subjected to a fine not exceeding $7,000 or be jailed a term not exceeding three years, or both.

For abuse of privilege or contempt, which is found in Sections 20 and 21 of the Act, those found liable could face a suspension from Parliament, a jail term "not extending beyond the current session of Parliament", and a fine of up to $50,000.

And what about their statuses as MPs? Singh and Faisal are current MPs of Aljunied GRC along with Lim. The other two lawmakers of the five-member team are Gerald Giam and Leon Perera. 

If the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) trial is anything to go by, Singh and Faisal could still retain their seats amid investigations and a probable trial.

The verdict on the AHTC case, which went to court in 2018, found Singh, Lim and former party chief Low Thia Khiang liable for damages sustained by the town council. AHTC was found to have made millions in improper payments under their watch.

Despite the case pending a second round of hearings to determine the quantum of damages due to the town council, Singh and Lim were both allowed to run in the 2020 General Election. They retained their seats as MPs for Aljunied GRC while Low stepped down. 

[[nid:565638]]

According to a report in 2019 by The Straits Times, the party leaders could face disqualification as MPs should they be liable for damages large enough to bankrupt them.

But with a suspension and jail term both possibilities in the current recommendations against Singh and Faisal, their political futures as MPs and as party leaders appear to hang in the balance. 

The chain of events

Critical to the COP probe into the current case was what the three party leaders did after being made aware of Khan's lie in Parliament on Aug 3. The lie was regarding details of a sexual assault case which Khan alleged had been mishandled by the police. 

Amid the investigations that followed, Khan confessed to party secretary-general Singh on Aug 7 that she had lied, and a meeting with WP vice-chairman Faisal and party chairman Lim took place the next day.

It took another nearly three months before Khan eventually admitted to her lie in Parliament on Nov 1. And this was after a second parliamentary session on Oct 4 where Khan repeated her lie when grilled by Law and Home Affairs Minister, K. Shanmugam. 

Another point of contention was the announcement on Nov 2 of an internal WP disciplinary panel to look into the incident. However, it was not made known to the public that all three party leaders, Singh, Lim, and Faisal, were already privy to the lie before Khan's admission. Furthermore, the leaders were the only three members on the disciplinary panel. 

But central to the issue, and probably the most serious allegation against the WP leaders, was whether or not they had urged Khan to tell the truth, or go along with the lie.

In particular, party leader Singh had been singled out by Khan for telling her to take the information "to the grave" during a meeting with the three leaders, instead of coming clean.

[[nid:565706]]

During the COP hearings, Singh had firmly denied making the statement, calling her account a "complete, utter fabrication" and a "bare lie".

According to the COP hearings, in the course of their interactions, Khan alleged that Singh had told her to "continue the narrative", stating the phrases, "I won't judge you" and "it's your call", which she took to mean that she had a choice to tell the truth or to stick with the lie.

She told the committee: "The conversation was that if I were to retain the narrative, or if I were to continue the narrative, there will be no judgment."

However, during the hearings, Singh disputed the exact words used, and clarified that to him, the words "your call" carried the expectation that she would "have to take ownership and responsibility" for the lie, meaning that she would have to tell the truth.

"'I will not judge you' meant 'I will not judge you if you take responsibility and ownership'. That was the gist of the conversation," said Singh to the committee.

He affirmed that he had also told Khan at a Nov 29 disciplinary panel interview, "can't lie right?" which was taken from Lim’s notes of the meeting.

This stance was supported by Lim, who told the committee that although she wasn't present at that particular meeting between Singh and Khan on Oct 3, she could not "fathom" the possibility that Khan could have been given the choice of lying again.

According to Lim, the matter was not discussed further between herself and the other two leaders. Lim explained that this was because she had left the matter to Singh to follow up with Khan, believing that he was the best person to guide her.

[[nid:565715]]

This was until Oct 4 when Khan repeated her lie in Parliament, which "frustrated" Lim.

However, no motion was made for Khan to make a clarification in Parliament the next day.

Both Singh and Lim also alleged that at that point, Khan still seemed unwilling to come clean, which contradicts Khan's account.

It was also revealed that when Khan received an email on Oct 7 from the police requesting for an interview, Lim told Khan during their meeting on Oct 12 that she did not have to respond, as Khan would be making the clarification in Parliament. 

During the COP hearing, the three party leaders were also issued summons by the parliamentary committee on Dec 15, for failing to produce documents such as internal correspondence among party senior leadership that could be relevant for its investigation into Khan.

The issue of documents had also come up during Faisal's hearing on Dec 9, when he was asked about a note he had prepared on the sequence of events pertaining to Khan's telling of falsehoods in Parliament.

In his response to whether he had discussed the contents of the note with anyone, Faisal said he had brought documents to meetings with Singh and Lim in the two days before his hearing, but refused to answer questions about what those documents were and whether he knew what they were.

However, according to a COP report on Dec 22, the WP leaders appeared before the committee on Dec 20 and "produced certain documents". They also confirmed in writing that they had produced all documents required by the committee. 

In his responses during the hearing, Faisal supported statements made by Singh and Lim that they did not ask Khan to take the lie "to the grave" during their meeting on Aug 8. He added that at the time, their main concern was for her well-being, after she told them about her sexual assault.

He also stated that he was unaware of the exchanges between Khan and the other two party leaders until the trio convened again on Oct 29.

candicecai@asiaone.com