Singapore opposition leader fined for lying to parliament

SINGAPORE: Singapore´s opposition leader was fined on Monday for lying to parliament while helping a fellow party member cover up a false witness account, but narrowly avoided being barred from contesting upcoming national elections.

Pritam Singh, 48, secretary-general of the Workers´ Party, was found guilty on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee probing a fellow MP. The conviction comes as the Southeast Asian nation´s struggling political opposition is seeking to challenge the overwhelming dominance of the ruling People´s Action Party (PAP) in elections expected within months.

The PAP has ruled the wealthy city-state since 1959. District court judge Luke Tan said that contrary to what Singh told the committee, he had not done enough to get rookie MP Raeesah Khan to admit to her lie in parliament.

The judge also gave credence to Khan´s testimony that Singh had told her during a meeting to “take the lie to the grave”. Singh, who said he would appeal the court´s decision, was fined Sg$7,000 ($5,200) for each charge.

“It´s not going to be an easy election... we´ll have to fight hard, and that´s what we will do,” Singh told reporters outside the court. “The path of choosing opposition politics is not for the faint hearted.” Under the constitution, a person fined a minimum of Sg$10,000 or jailed for at least one year, is disqualified from running for election or holding a parliamentary seat for five years.