Singapore’s leader of the opposition was convicted and fined by a court on lying charges in a widely watched decision that could disqualify him from contesting a national election this year.
Pritam Singh, 48, who heads the main opposition Workers’ Party, was found guilty on two charges of lying under oath. The case centred on his testimony in 2021 to a parliament committee investigating a former lawmaker from his party who lied in parliament about a sexual assault case. He said he intends to appeal the decision.
Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan ordered Singh to pay the maximum fine of S$7,000 ($5,224) for each of the two charges of lying under oath. Singapore’s law states that a person who has been fined at least S$10,000 or jailed for at least one year is disqualified from being a member of parliament for five years.
The verdict on Singh took place at a politically sensitive time as Lawrence Wong leads the ruling People’s Action Party in his first election as prime minister. The PAP suffered its worst-ever electoral showing in 2020 even though it took 83 of the 93 contested seats.
“I intend to contest in the general elections,” Singh told reporters outside the courthouse. Singapore’s people want a check and balance to the government, he added.
It isn’t immediately clear if Singh will be barred from running in the next election. Still, a conviction adds unwanted scrutiny to the politician and his party before the vote that’s due by November.
“Now that Mr Pritam Singh has been sentenced to a fine of S$14,000, his political future depends on how the constitution is interpreted,” said Ben Chester Cheong, law lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences
Singh was named the leader of the opposition after his party made unprecedented gains by grabbing 10 seats. The Workers’ Party has cast itself as a check on the PAP that is grappling with voter concerns over rising living costs.
In a speech last month, Singh said at least one-third of elected lawmakers should be from the opposition.
Wong, 52, who also serves as finance minister, will deliver a national budget on Tuesday likely to feature cash handouts and refreshed social welfare programs for Singaporeans as he seeks to shore up support.
The PAP too has grappled with a series of controversies in the past two years. Two lawmakers unexpectedly resigned over an affair, a former transport minister was sent to jail after pleading guilty to obtaining gifts as a public servant and the son of former premier Goh Chok Tong was among four people charged for false trading offenses.
For the Workers’ Party, its fortunes took a dent after a parliamentary committee stacked with ruling-party officials found in 2022 that Singh told untruths during his testimony in the investigation into his former colleague. Parliament members then referred the case to prosecutors.
Singh said this year would be a critical one for his party and the opposition.
“At this stage of Singapore’s political development, there is a real risk of a wipeout of elected opposition MPs” in the coming elections, he said in last month’s speech. “Such a development will set back the evolution of a more balanced political system.”