| Daily Update of the Pritam Singh Trial – October 23, 2024 |
18:03
Raeesah Khan issue a ‘hiccup’ for Pritam Singh and the party: Low Thia Khiang
Speaking to the media outside the court, former Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang gives Pritam Singh a vote of confidence.
He says: “I think this is a hiccup; it’s a process whether you are a new leader or an organisation. In the process of development, there are always hiccups here and there. We must not forget the whole general direction, making progress in Singapore.”
Speaking in English and Mandarin, he adds that it has not been long since Singh took over from him as secretary-general of the party. Singh was elected WP secretary-general in 2018.
When asked if Singh could have handled the matter better, Mr Low says in Mandarin that he thinks Singh has already tried his best.
He adds that in the course of any political party’s or leader’s development, challenging situations will surely occur and that it is part of the learning process.
“The most important thing is to know how to unite the party.”
Mr Low adds that he thinks Singapore is now a mature democracy and that voters are mature.
He says: “Voters can make a distinction between who is a good politician and who is not a good politician.
“And I believe Pritam is a good politician. He’s a capable, competent leader with a heart for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
When asked if the issue will hinder Mr Low’s work with the WP central executive committee, which he remains a member of, he says: “No, it should not. It will not.”
Singh and Mr Low also shared a brief exchange in the court lobby before Mr Low stepped out.
There, Singh apologised to Mr Low, saying: “Sorry, I didn’t have many questions for you.”
In response, Mr Low wished him good luck.
17:10
Defence asks if court proceedings can start later tomorrow so that Pritam Singh can attend daughter’s event
Defence lawyer Andre Jumabhoy asks Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan if the hearing can resume at 11.30am tomorrow so that Pritam Singh can attend his daughter’s graduation, where she will give a speech.
The judge agrees and adjourns the hearing.
17:05
‘That’s all?’ Low Thia Khiang stands down after one question from defence
Defence lawyer Aristotle Emmanuel Eng asks Mr Low Thia Khiang if he agrees that a lie on record in Parliament would have to be clarified in Parliament.
Mr Low says: “Yes, I think so.”
Mr Eng says he has no further questions. Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock also says he has no questions for Mr Low in the re-examination.
The judge then releases Mr Low, who says: “That’s all?” before leaving the stand.
16:58
Low Thia Khiang says he texted Pritam to suggest forming disciplinary panel after Raeesah’s clarification in Parliament
Mr Low Thia Khiang tells the court that he texted Pritam Singh after Ms Raeesah Khan clarified her untruth in Parliament on Nov 1, 2021, to suggest forming a disciplinary panel to look into her lie.
He suggested that the panel could consist of Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Faisal Manap and Singh, he says.
When asked if he sent the message on Nov 1 or 2, he says he does not remember the exact date and adds: “Something like that, I think so.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan asks if he had known when he suggested forming the disciplinary panel that party leaders had known about the untruth since 2021.
Mr Low says no, and adds that he found out about the leaders’ involvement only in August 2023. He also says he did not know when Ms Khan had lied.
“I did not have any impression as to when the lie happened. Because I didn’t know when was the Parliament sitting and I didn’t follow Parliament closely,” he tells the court.
DPP Tan asks when he first came to know that Singh and Ms Khan had a private conversation on Oct 3 about the untruth possibly being raised during the Parliament sitting on Oct 4.
“I don’t know,” says Mr Low.
When asked if he is aware of this, Mr Low says he is not.
“Mr Low, did you either read the Committee of Privileges (COP) report or follow the COP proceedings?”
Mr Low answers: “I read newspaper reports but I don’t read the details.”
This ends the prosecution’s questioning.
16:57
Low Thia Khiang says he knew only two years later that Pritam, Sylvia and Faisal Manap had known in August 2021 about Raeesah’s lie
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan asks Mr Low Thia Khiang when he first discovered that Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap had known since August 2021 about Ms Raeesah Khan’s lie. Mr Low says he knew about it in August 2023.
DPP Tan then asks what Mr Low’s reaction was to the realisation. Mr Low says he was wondering why it took so long for the information to surface.
16:55
Low Thia Khiang asked to see Raeesah Khan’s draft apology, says he didn’t want apology to ‘end up with another lie’
The prosecution asks Mr Low Thia Khiang about a meeting between him and Ms Sylvia Lim at his home on Oct 18, 2021.
At the meeting, initiated by Ms Lim, Mr Low says she told him that Ms Raeesah Khan had agreed to apologise about her lie in Parliament.
“We would want to look at her draft apology,” he recalls telling Ms Lim.
Asked why, Mr Low says: “Because I would not want an apology (to) end up with another lie.”
16:48
Prosecution questions Low Thia Khiang on what Pritam Singh and Sylvia Lim told him about Raeesah Khan’s lie
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan next questions former Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang about what he was told during the meeting with Pritam Singh and Ms Sylvia Lim on Oct 11.
DPP Tan asks Mr Low if Singh or Ms Lim told him they had informed Ms Raeesah Khan to clarify her untruth in Parliament, and he says no.
“During this meeting, did Pritam Singh or Sylvia Lim tell you that they had already told Raeesah Khan to speak to her parents about the sexual assault?” asks DPP Tan, to which Mr Low says no.
DPP Tan then asks if Mr Low was told that Singh had gone to Ms Khan’s house on Oct 3 and had told her to clarify the untruth in Parliament the next day. He replies no.
He also answers no when asked if Ms Lim had told him about Ms Khan’s sexual assault.
“So earlier you mentioned that Sylvia Lim broke the news to you that Raeesah Khan had lied in Parliament, what was your impression of what Pritam Singh and Sylvia Lim had found out about the lie?” asks DPP Tan.
“I didn’t have any impression when they found out,” Mr Low answers. “They broke the news to me, so this is a problem and I participated in the discussion.”
He repeats this answer when prompted again, and adds that he was unaware of when the Parliament sitting was and that he had not been following Parliament closely.
16:46
WP leaders told Low Thia Khiang on Oct 11 that they planned to expel Raeesah Khan
Pritam Singh and Workers’ Party (WP) chairwoman Sylvia Lim told former WP chief Low Thia Khiang that they planned to expel Ms Raeesah Khan, when they met Mr Low on Oct 11, 2021.
The WP later announced that it had convened a disciplinary panel on Ms Khan’s actions on Nov 2, 2021, a day after she came clean in Parliament.
Mr Low says there was no mention at the Oct 11 meeting of Ms Khan’s position as an MP, but that Singh and Ms Lim also told him they planned to hold a press conference for Ms Khan to come clean about lying to Parliament.
Asked for his response to the planned press conference, Mr Low says: “I told them that it doesn’t work to just use a press conference or a statement. Because Raeesah Khan lied in Parliament, the correct forum is Parliament and she should apologise and clarify in Parliament.”
When asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan what the pair said in response to this, Mr Low says he does not remember.
16:35
Sylvia Lim told Low Thia Khiang it’s not easy for Govt to find out about Raeesah’s lie as there are many police stations in S’pore
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan asks Mr Low Thia Khiang about a meeting on Oct 11, 2021, between himself, Pritam Singh and Workers’ Party (WP) chairwoman Sylvia Lim
The former WP chief had saved the date in his phone calendar. He says Ms Lim had sent him a text message to initiate the meeting.
The trio met at Mr Low’s house, where Ms Lim told him that Ms Raeesah Khan had lied in Parliament.
Ms Lim had also said she was considering holding a press conference for Ms Khan to issue an apology, but Mr Low says he told the party leaders that Ms Khan should apologise in Parliament instead.
“Since Raeesah Khan lied in Parliament, the correct forum to apologise is in Parliament”, Mr Low says of his advice to Ms Lim and Singh.
In response to a question from DPP Tan, Mr Low says he had also asked Ms Lim and Singh if the Government knew about the lie.
He recalls that Ms Lim replied that the Government did not know and “it is not easy to know because there are so many police stations in Singapore”.
DPP Tan asks Mr Low if Singh said anything at that point. Mr Low says no.
16:19
Defence asks Yudhishthra Nathan about meetings with Loh Pei Ying and Raeesah Khan
During Mr Yudhishthra Nathan’s cross-examination earlier, Mr Andre Jumabhoy asks about two dinners Mr Nathan had with Ms Loh Pei Ying on Nov 29 and Dec 1, 2021. Mr Jumabhoy says Mr Nathan and Ms Loh had been “aligning (their) facts right from the COP (Committee of Privileges)”.
Denying this, Mr Nathan says they had talked about Ms Raeesah Khan’s fear of exposing the Workers’ Party leaders at the COP hearing. Ms Khan was also at the dinner on Dec 1, 2021.
Mr Nathan says Ms Khan was afraid of going to the COP and “telling the truth that party leaders told her to maintain the lie since August”, even though she had resigned.
He also recalls that at one of the dinners, Mr Mike Lim, Ms Khan’s legislative assistant, was on a phone call with Pritam Singh. Before the call, Ms Loh told Mr Lim to tell Singh that she had been called to the COP and would not lie to save the party.
Asked what was Singh’s response, Mr Nathan says Singh had told Mr Lim to tell Ms Loh to tell the truth, “which was a response that surprised me”. He adds he was shocked when Singh told the COP he did not know Ms Loh was going to testify.
Mr Jumabhoy points to a message from Ms Loh where she told Mr Lim to be careful when he talks to Singh because the conversation might be recorded.
“Please don’t tell him we met before the COP, okay? This one really cannot say,” the message said.
Mr Nathan also sent a message to the same chat group: “Just to protect yourself.”
Asked by Mr Jumabhoy what this meant, Mr Nathan says: “I guess it’s because just in case Mr Singh would try to use that info against him.”
16:16
Ex-WP chief Low Thia Khiang takes the stand
Former Aljunied GRC MP Low Thia Khiang has taken the stand as the fourth witness in the trial.
Mr Low, who stepped down as Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general in 2018 and handed over the reins to Pritam Singh, had discussed the matter with Pritam and Ms Sylvia Lim at his house on Oct 11, 2021, where he was told of Ms Raeesah Khan’s Aug 3 lie.
Mr Low, who remains a member of the WP’s central executive committee, had told both leaders that Ms Khan should admit to her lie in Parliament and apologise as soon as possible.
The next day, both leaders told Ms Khan directly – for the first time – to clarify the truth in Parliament.
On Oct 4, Singh and Ms Lim met Ms Khan at the end of a Parliament sitting. Ms Khan had suggested: “Perhaps there is another way. That is, to tell the truth.”
The prosecution argues that Singh told her it was too late for that.
Mr Low’s involvement had not previously come up during the Committee of Privileges hearings.
16:16
Defence asks Yudhishthra Nathan if he brought up ‘I will not judge you’ point at WP disciplinary panel
Mr Andre Jumabhoy asks Mr Yudhishthra Nathan about the disciplinary panel that the Workers’ Party (WP) convened on Nov 25, 2021, which Mr Nathan and Ms Loh Pei Ying attended.
The defence counsel points to Mr Nathan’s testimony that Ms Raeesah Khan would have found it difficult to speak to Pritam Singh due to the power imbalance between herself and the party’s leaders, but suggests that the same cannot be said for Mr Nathan.
“No, I wouldn’t say so,” Mr Nathan replies.
Mr Jumabhoy then brings up the points Mr Nathan and Ms Loh raised at the session, saying there was no suggestion at the time that Ms Khan had been told to maintain the lie she told in Parliament.
“I wouldn’t agree with that,” says Mr Nathan.
“There is no suggestion that Pritam Singh told her to take the lie to the grave,” Mr Jumabhoy says.
“I mean, I would agree we didn’t use that phrase,” Mr Nathan responds. However, he notes that he and Ms Loh were there to tell the WP leaders that they “should be upfront with the public in their involvement in all of this”.
Mr Jumabhoy then suggests that Mr Nathan did not tell the disciplinary panel that Ms Khan maintained the lie on Oct 4 because she had been told by the WP leaders to do so.
Mr Nathan responds: “Not specifically, no.”
When pressed on the point, Mr Nathan says he did not raise the point about Singh telling Ms Khan that he will not judge her, at the disciplinary panel.
However, he says he brought it up as a “broader point”, referring to how the party leaders wanted Ms Khan to maintain the lie from August.
Mr Nathan is then asked to specify where that point is mentioned in written evidence, and he says the notes from the disciplinary panel are from WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim.
Mr Nathan then disagrees with Mr Jumabhoy’s line of questioning, that neither he nor Ms Loh conveyed any suggestion that Ms Khan had been told to maintain the lie.
15:54
Yudhishthra Nathan says Pritam Singh never told Raeesah Khan to take ownership and responsibility
Pritam Singh’s lawyer Andre Jumabhoy asks Mr Yudhishthra Nathan if Singh had told him about an Oct 3 conversation he had with Ms Raeesah Khan, in the meeting on Oct 12, 2021, between himself, Singh and Ms Loh Pei Ying.
Mr Nathan says Singh told him that “he had thought that the anecdote (about the sexual assault victim) could possibly come up the next day, on Oct 4”, and that was why Singh had visited Ms Khan on Oct 3.
The defence lawyer goes on to ask Mr Nathan if Singh mentioned that he said he would not judge Ms Khan. Mr Nathan says yes.
Mr Jumabhoy asks why Mr Nathan did not clarify what Singh meant when he said he would not judge Ms Khan. Mr Nathan replies he did not feel a need to do so at that point.
Following that, Mr Jumabhoy asks if Mr Nathan recalled Singh telling Ms Khan to “take ownership and responsibility (for telling a lie in Parliament)”.
“Absolutely not. He never used those words,” Mr Nathan says.
Mr Jumabhoy asks if Mr Nathan would agree that it is something Singh could have said.
Mr Nathan says no.
15:36
Defence grills Yudhishthra Nathan on Oct 12 meeting, suggests that Nathan and Loh Pei Ying met to align stories to the police
Defence lawyer Andre Jumabhoy questions Mr Yudhishthra Nathan on why he did not tell the Committee of Privileges (COP) about Pritam Singh “changing party strategy” on Oct 12, since Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong had asked during the COP if anything significant had happened during that meeting.
Mr Jumabhoy says: “Edwin Tong gave you the floor, he said to you ‘Was there anything of significance that happened, other than what we talked about on the 12th?’, and you say, ‘Anything of significance? No’.
“He’s not asking you whether you went to the toilet that night. He’s not asking you for your life story that night.”
When asked if he withheld that information from the COP, Mr Nathan says he did not recall it at that point in time, but later told the police.
Mr Jumabhoy also suggests that Mr Nathan and Ms Loh Pei Ying had met up after the COP to align their stories to the police, and had made up the “nugget” about Singh’s change in strategy then.
But Mr Nathan says: “I don’t agree to that.”
15:13
Low Thia Khiang arrives
Former Workers’ Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang arrives in court for the trial of Pritam Singh, the current party chief.
Mr Low is expected to be called as one of the prosecution’s witnesses.
15:11
Defence questions why Yudhishthra Nathan asked Pritam about change in party strategy
Defence lawyer Andre Jumabhoy asks Mr Yudhishthra Nathan if he remembers what he had asked Pritam Singh during the Oct 12, 2021, meeting between himself, Pritam Singh and Ms Loh Pei Ying.
Mr Nathan says he asked Singh “how come the party was now getting (Ms Raeesah Khan) to come clean”, but cannot remember the question he had asked verbatim.
Mr Jumabhoy asks how many ways can that question be asked, adding that the question seems straightforward. He goes on to ask why Mr Nathan cannot remember the question.
Mr Nathan replies that the meeting took place three years ago.
Mr Jumabhoy asks if that was the first time Mr Nathan had heard Singh mention the change in party strategy and if it was also the first time Mr Nathan and Ms Loh had a chance to question Singh on the new change. He also asks if it was significant.
Mr Nathan says yes.
15:09
Judge rejects defence’s application to get full list of Yudhishthra Nathan’s redacted and unredacted messages to COP
Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan rejects the defence’s application to get the full set of Mr Yudhishthra Nathan’s unredacted messages from Oct 4 to 12, 2021, and his redacted messages which were submitted to the Committee of Privileges (COP).
The judge says he has carefully examined the documents, and is satisfied that none of the messages are relevant to the guilt or innocence of Pritam Singh.
He adds that the messages do not undermine the prosecution’s case nor strengthen the defence’s case in the context of the criminal trial.
As the redactions were done for the purpose of the specific inquiry by the COP, the scope and basis of the redactions are not relevant to the current criminal trial, he says.
The judge also notes that a list of unredacted messages by Mr Nathan, as well as the full list of redacted and unredacted messages by Ms Loh Pei Ying, has already been admitted as evidence for the trial.
While there is “no doubt” the credibility of Mr Nathan is an issue, as with the credibility of all witnesses, the messages already submitted as evidence can and already have been used to test the accuracy of the evidence given by the witnesses, including Mr Nathan.
14:29
Pritam Singh, Yudhishthra Nathan arrive in court
Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh (top, right) arrives in court with his defence team, including Mr Andre Jumabhoy (top, from left) and Mr Aristotle Emmanuel Eng.
Former WP cadre Yudhishthra Nathan (above) is also seen arriving.
14:16
Pritam Singh’s trial resumes today
The trial of Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh resumes this afternoon. The hearing was stood down yesterday as defence counsel Andre Jumabhoy was unwell and had a two-day MC.
Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan is set to make a decision on the defence’s application to get the redacted and unredacted messages of former WP cadre Yudhishthra Nathan, which were submitted to the Committee of Privileges.
Mr Jumabhoy said the two sets of messages would indicate whether Mr Nathan’s and Ms Loh Pei Ying’s testimonies were credible.
The defence is also expected to resume cross-examination of Mr Nathan.
