Not an option for Raeesah Khan to clarify lie on Oct 5, time needed to carefully structure statement: Sylvia Lim

SINGAPORE - Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim told a parliamentary committee she did not think it was an option for Ms Raeesah Khan to come clean at the Oct 5 sitting of Parliament, one day after the former MP repeated her lie in Parliament.

This is because Ms Khan and the WP leaders needed time to "carefully structure" a statement that Ms Khan would be comfortable with, according to the fourth special report released by the Committee of Privileges on Tuesday (Dec 14).

Ms Lim also cited a clarification that party chief Pritam Singh had drafted for Ms Khan on Aug 3 after Ms Khan first told her lie. Ms Khan had insisted on the veracity of her anecdote, leading to Mr Singh drafting a clarification for her that turned out to "double down" on the untruth, said Ms Lim.

The episode "was a reminder of how things had to be done with due deliberation", Ms Lim is quoted as saying in the report.

Ms Lim, Mr Singh - who is Leader of the Opposition - and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap, had all acknowledged during hearings held by the committee that Ms Khan's repetition of the lie on Oct 4 had made the situation more grave.

Ms Khan had said in a speech on Aug 3 that she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station, but that the victim later came out crying after being asked by the police about her dressing and whether she had been drinking.

Ms Khan has since confessed to lying about the case and admitted that she had not accompanied the victim to the police station.

The Committee of Privileges is looking into a complaint against Ms Khan over the lie.

In the committee's special report, Ms Lim is quoted saying that it became even more urgent for steps to be taken to correct the parliamentary record after Ms Khan lied again during an exchange with Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam on Oct 4.

Asked why Ms Khan was not asked to set the record straight the very next day, Ms Lim said: "I think theoretically, yes, it's an option, but practically I don't think it's an option."

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She explained to the committee that time was needed to carefully structure a clarification and to make sure that Ms Khan would be "emotionally stable and comfortable with her statement of clarification".

She also said the WP leaders would "need time to go in, ascertain from her exactly what she wants to say and whether it can withstand scrutiny".

Ms Lim told the committee that she had been very frustrated when Ms Khan stuck to her untrue anecdote that day.

"I was frustrated because it didn't appear that there had been any progress made on moving towards correcting the record and in fact... there was doubling down on the untruth," Ms Lim said at a hearing on Monday (Dec 13).

After the exchange, Ms Lim had asked to meet Ms Khan in Mr Singh's office in Parliament House, to ascertain Ms Khan's emotional state, and also to tell Ms Khan her thoughts on the legal position, Ms Lim said to the committee.

At this meeting, Ms Lim said she had told Ms Khan that an issue brought up in Parliament should be dealt with by Parliament, since things said in the House are protected by privilege.

She told Ms Khan to get legal advice, in the light of the fact that Mr Shanmugam had said the police would contact Ms Khan for assistance.

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That night, Ms Lim met Ms Khan again, this time with Mr Singh present.

After Mr Singh asked Ms Khan what she planned to do about the matter, Ms Khan had said perhaps there was another path - honesty, Ms Lim said.

The meeting ended shortly with Mr Singh saying that they would discuss the matter further.

Ms Lim said neither she nor Mr Singh had indicated when Ms Khan should set the record straight in Parliament, though this was what she had in mind.

It was only on Oct 12 that an express commitment was made for the first time for Ms Khan to clarify the lie in Parliament, during a meeting in Mr Singh's house, Ms Lim confirmed.

Ms Lim said she and Mr Singh had been angry as Ms Khan had been reluctant to correct the record in Parliament. They told her she had no choice but to do so at the next sitting in November, and Ms Khan agreed this would be the best thing to do, said the report.

Ms Lim said she had also told Ms Khan that it was all right not to respond to the police, who had sent Ms Khan an e-mail on Oct 7, since Ms Khan was going to make a clarification in Parliament.

See the full report released by the Committee of Privileges.

Watch videos of Ms Lim's testimony:

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.