'I revered him', says Raeesah Khan: 5 things from day 1 of Pritam Singh's trial

The trial of Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh got underway on Monday (Oct 14).

Singh, 48, is accused of giving false answers to the Committee of Privileges (COP), which was convened in November 2021 to look into a controversy involving Raeesah Khan, a former WP MP who had lied in the House about a sexual assault case.

Singh pleaded not guilty to two charges under Section 31(q) of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

Cutting a sombre figure, Khan, 30, was the first witness the prosecution called to testify during the trial.

Others present in the packed courtroom at the State Courts included Singh's father Amarjit Singh and WP MPs Faisal Manap, Gerald Giam, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Louis Chua.

Here are some highlights from the day's proceedings.

1. Singh had 'sought to mislead the COP'

In the prosecution's opening statement on Monday, Deputy Attorney-General (DAG) Ang Cheng Hock told the court that Singh had "sought to mislead the COP about what he wanted Khan to do" about her lie.

Giving the chronology of events, Ang said that Singh, along with WP chair Sylvia Lim and vice-chairman Faisal, did not tell Khan that she would have to clarify the lie that she had told in parliament.

This happened despite Khan telling Singh that the anecdote of her accompanying a rape victim to the police station and the mishandling of the case by the police was untrue.

"The prosecution's case is that the accused said that he did not think that the anecdote would be brought up again and that this was something that all of them would have to 'take to the grave'," said DAG Ang.

DAG Ang said that after "silence" from Singh from Aug 8 to Oct 2, 2021, he told Khan on Oct 3 that it was possible the anecdote would be brought up in parliament the next day.

Singh did not tell Khan to clarify the lie if the issue was brought up, according to the prosecution.

"Instead, the accused gave the impression to Ms Khan that she could choose to continue with her narrative, indicating he would not judge her," said DAG Ang.

"By doing so, the accused intentionally guided Khan to continue to maintain the untruth."

2. Khan 'revered' Singh

As a political rookie, Khan saw Singh as a mentor who "knew everything and would have all the answers".

The former MP for Sengkang GRC was just 26 when she was elected to parliament in 2020.

"I was hoping to have someone to guide me along my journey especially during my term as MP," Khan said when asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sivakumar Ramasamy about her relationship with Singh. "And I revered him."

But she said that she felt Singh used a "very condescending tone" towards her after he learnt that the anecdote she had told in parliament was a lie.

This was despite him telling her that it "would probably be something that we would have to take to the grave", she added.

DPP Ramasamy also referred to an email that Singh sent to all sitting WP MPs on Oct 1, 2021, where he talked about how important it was for MPs to defend and back up what one is saying in parliament.

"It felt like it was almost a dig at me," said Khan. 

She also thought the email was intended to placate other WP MPs who were angry over her actions and that she was "getting off without any repercussions".

3. Khan's un-delivered statement to maintain lie

In a parliamentary sitting on Oct 4, 2021, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam pressed Khan to give more details on an alleged incident of the police mishandling a sexual assault case.

Khan repeatedly declined to provide more information that day, citing the need for confidentiality.

She told the court on Monday that she had drafted a statement to respond to Shanmugam's question in parliament, in hopes that it would "stop all the questioning".

In her draft, she wrote that she was disappointed that the government "pushed her to break all forms of confidentiality and consent".

"Because I think the fear of coming clean and having to talk about my own assault, the consequences to other survivors, surmounted the other fear I had of fighting it out and maintaining the lie," she added.

Khan said she did not deliver the statement in parliament after Loh Pei Ying, who was her secretarial assistant then, told her it would be a "terrible thing" to say.

4. Khan wanted to protect WP leaders

Khan met with Singh and WP chair Sylvia Lim on Oct 12, 2021, and the pair advised her to come clean about her lie in parliament.

The court heard on Monday that Khan had prepared nine versions of her draft statement and shared them with Singh and other WP Central Executive Committee members.

When asked why she prepared so many versions, Khan said she was "going back and forth" with Singh and Lim on what she should say.

Admitting to her lie in parliament on Nov 1, 2021, Khan did not mention the fact that she had told Singh and other WP leaders about the untruth earlier.

"I wanted to protect them. I didn't want to implicate anybody else in the mistake that I made and I wanted to take full responsibility for what happened," she told the court.

5. Low Thia Khiang to testify

Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang was revealed as a prosecution witness for Singh's trial.

The prosecution said in their opening statement that Low was informed about Khan's lie in parliament during a meeting with Singh and Lim on Oct 11, 2021.

Low advised both party leaders that Khan should apologise and clarify the lie in parliament as soon as possible, they added.

Former WP cadres Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan, as well as Singapore Police Force's head of Special Investigation Section Roy Lim, who was the lead investigator, are also set to testify.

ALSO READ: What you should know about WP chief Pritam Singh's trial over alleged lies to Parliament

chingshijie@asiaone.com