Police contacting relevant people in probe into possible offences by WP's Pritam Singh, Faisal Manap

SINGAPORE - The police have gone through evidence provided by Parliament on the conduct of Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh and vice-chairman Faisal Manap and will now get in touch with people relevant to the case.

This comes after Parliament voted on Feb 15 to refer Mr Singh, who is Leader of the Opposition, and Mr Faisal for further investigations by the public prosecutor over a lying scandal involving former WP MP Raeesah Khan.

The police, in a statement on Friday (April 29), said the move is part of investigations into whether any offences have been committed.

The statement said: “In February, Parliament referred the conduct of Mr Pritam Singh and Mr Faisal Manap before the Committee of Privileges to the public prosecutor, who in turn referred the matter to the police for investigations.

“The police have been going through the evidence provided by Parliament and will now be engaging persons relevant to the case as part of the investigations into the possible offences disclosed.”

Last year, a parliamentary committee was set up to look into lies told by Ms Khan in Parliament on Aug 3 and Oct 4, but had found misconduct by Mr Singh, WP chairman Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal in the course of its investigations.

The Committee of Privileges is chaired by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and comprises six other People’s Action Party lawmakers, including Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, and WP MP Dennis Tan.

On Feb 10, the committee said Mr Singh and Mr Faisal should be referred to the public prosecutor for investigations to consider if criminal proceedings ought to be instituted.

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The committee concluded that Mr Singh was the “operating brain” and the key reason why Ms Khan’s lie was not clarified immediately after Aug 8 – when she admitted she had lied to the three party leaders – and why she repeated the lie on Oct 4.

The committee said a WP disciplinary panel consisting of Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal was self-serving and was “engineered” to cover up the three WP leaders’ roles in the matter.

Although Ms Khan had admitted her lie to the three leaders, the panel did not reveal this to other party members.

The WP leaders also did not produce any contemporaneous evidence that supported their version of the disputed facts.

The committee added that Mr Singh was the only WP leader who gave Ms Khan guidance on what to do in Parliament on Oct 4, while Ms Lim and Mr Faisal played a “subsidiary role”.

The committee had determined that Mr Singh had lied while giving evidence under oath and this could amount to perjury, and that Mr Faisal’s refusal to answer questions could amount to contempt of Parliament.

On Feb 15, Parliament voted after a four-hour debate on a motion to refer Mr Singh and Mr Faisal to the public prosecutor. 

It also sought to defer any parliamentary sanctions on the two men and Ms Lim with regard to Ms Khan’s lie, until the conclusion of any investigations and possible criminal proceedings against Mr Singh.

This motion was passed, with Mr Singh and the WP MPs voting against it.

Speaking before the vote, Mr Singh said he had no objection to being referred to the public prosecutor and would do his utmost to clear his name.

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