Pritam Singh takes the stand: Raeesah Khan wept in my office after lying - and other key points

Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh took to the stand on Tuesday (Nov 5) to make his defence after the judge ruled that the prosecution had made out a sufficient case against him.

The trial at the State Courts resumed after the prosecution wrapped up its case on Oct 24.

The 48-year-old is contesting two counts under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act for wilfully giving false answers to the Committee of Privileges (COP), which was convened in November 2021 to look into a controversy involving former WP MP Raeesah Khan.

Here are some highlights from the day in court.

1. Singh on why he chose Khan to be MP

Answering questions from his lawyer Andre Jumabhoy, Singh said he first met Khan at a Meet-the-People session in 2019, where she volunteered as a case writer.

She summarised resident issues for Singh to read before he spoke to them.

During her frequent appearances at these sessions, Singh said that it was "quite clear that Khan was a person who was empathetic" to residents' concerns.

"She listened intently, carefully and had patience with residents who had problems and difficulties," he added. "These are positive traits, in my opinion, to be an MP."

Singh later deployed her to walk the ground in the area that later became Sengkang GRC.

He said that it was also part of a campaign strategy, as the party needed to field a "Malay candidate" in the team.

"Given that I had observed Ms Khan on the ground for a number of months already, I felt that there was some potential there.

"I asked her whether she would be keen on candidature and she said she was," Singh added.

2. Khan cried in Singh's office after lying in Parliament

According to Singh, he saw Khan's speech — which had the anecdote about the police mishandling a case of sexual assault — only on the morning of the Parliament sitting on Aug 3, 2021.

As party whip, Singh said he checks WP MPs' speeches to ensure that they align with the party's position, and to flag any "problematic" arguments that can be "pounced upon" by PAP MPs.

Khan only added the anecdote shortly before she was due to deliver the speech, he said.

After printing a copy of the speech, he circled the anecdote and wrote "substantiate" next to it before getting an assistant to pass the copy to Khan.

When Jumabhoy asked what he meant by this, Singh answered: "The details here are scanty and she would have to justify, or she could expect to be asked to justify this particular anecdote."

After Khan delivered the speech during WP's motion on empowering women, then Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan asked her for more details about the anecdote so they could look into the matter.

Minutes after Tan's questions, Singh texted Khan, saying: "I had a feeling this would happen. I highlighted this part in your draft speech. We should write in formally to the police with clarifications to address this matter."

Later that evening, Singh's legislative assistant informed him that Khan was crying while waiting in his office.

She subsequently shared a draft clarification which was prepared by then-WP cadre Yudhishthra Nathan, but Singh felt that it didn't the address the point that Khan had made about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station.

He also told Khan that she'd would "have to square away the issue like a responsible MP would".

As for Khan clarifying Tan's questions, Singh said: "I imagine it would not have been difficult".

"In the course of Parliament exchanges, it is normal for MPs to stand up and clarify aspects of another MP's speeches. Any responsible MP would just reply to the questions," he added.

Singh then drafted a clarification for Khan, which she read out in Parliament and added the line that she believed "consent is imperative, not least to avoid re-victimisation".

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3. Singh did not tell Khan to take lie 'to the grave'

In a phone call on Aug 7, 2021, Singh continued to ask Khan for more details, and she admitted that the incident did not happen.

"I was very unhappy with her, I was actually very upset and I cut the call and I told her we'll talk about it," he said.

Singh and fellow WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap met with Khan the following day, when she cried "quite uncontrollably" and revealed that she was a victim of rape, shocking those present.

The WP chief also denied telling Khan that she would have to take the lie to the grave — something that she had claimed during the COP as well as the trial.

When Judge Luke Tan asked for her exact words, Singh replied: "It's quite some time ago. I would have told her, I certainly told her, 'speak to your parents. We'll talk about that matter, we'll talk about that issue'."

Singh said that he did not bring up the anecdote to Khan until another meeting with her on Oct 3, 2021 at her home.

Khan started to get "a little nervous and uncomfortable" when he told her to take ownership and responsibility, he added.

"And I followed that up by telling her 'I will not judge you'. And what I meant by that was, I will not judge you if you take ownership and responsibility."

Singh said that Khan appeared to have understood what he meant and had no questions for him.

But in Parliament the next day, Khan doubled down on the lie when pressed by Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam for details.

"I was incredibly disappointed, because it was an opportunity here for her to clarify the record and to just say the anecdote was not true and the reason was as what she shared with us," he said.

When Singh and Lim met her on the same day, Khan was in a daze and suggested there could be another way, which was to tell the truth.

"I retorted quite angrily, 'look at the choice you've made'," Singh recalled.

"It was clear that I would have to take a different approach with her. The approach to be a bit sensitive and gentle towards her, to tell her to settle herself, had actually made things worse and I decided I would be following up with her closely."

4. WP's disciplinary panel

When Khan testified in Singh's trial on Oct 15, she told the court that she had felt "defeated and betrayed" after WP leaders grilled her on her conduct as a MP during disciplinary panel sessions.

She added then that the panel, which consisted of Singh, Lim and Faisal, "almost pretended" that they had not been guiding her on the false anecdote she gave in Parliament.

When Jumabhoy asked about the meeting on Nov 8, 2021, Singh said that Khan did not tell the leaders that she stuck to her lie under their instructions.

"Not at all, none whatsoever," he added.

Singh told the court that when then-WP cadre Loh Pei Ying warned him about the danger of "cutting Khan loose", he was unconcerned about any allegations Khan might make against him as the party leaders never told her to do "anything wrong."

"We never told her to take the lie to the grave," he said.

"I wasn't concerned about what she would do at the COP because I never expected her to lie at the COP about what happened on Oct 3 and on Aug 8."

ALSO READ: 'You are in fact a liar': Defence grills Raeesah Khan in Pritam Singh trial

chingshijie@asiaone.com