1. On 10 February 2022, Wake Up Singapore published posts on its Instagram and Facebook accounts (“the posts”) which contain a false statement of fact.
Falsehood
2. The posts falsely convey that the Committee of Privileges (“the Committee”) recommended that Mr Pritam Singh (“Mr Singh”) and Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (“Mr Faisal”) be referred for criminal proceedings, even though there was no finding by the Committee that they lied.
3. This is false in various respects.
4. The Committee expressly found that Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal had lied in their evidence before the Committee.
5. The Committee’s recommendation that Mr Singh be referred to the Public Prosecutor was based on this finding which it made, that Mr Singh had lied on oath (which is a possible offence of perjury).
6. The Committee did not recommend referring Mr Faisal Manap to the Public Prosecutor for lying to the Committee. The Committee recommended referring Mr Faisal for repeatedly refusing to answer relevant questions put to him by the Committee.
Facts
7. In the report that the Committee presented to Parliament on 10 February 2022 (Parl. 13 of 2022) regarding the complaint against Ms Raeesah Khan (“Ms Khan”) for the Untruth spoken in Parliament (“the report”), the Committee had expressly found that Mr Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim (“Ms Lim”) and Mr Faisal had lied in their testimony before the Committee:
“… in reaching our findings above, we are satisfied that Mr Singh (and to a lesser extent, Mr Faisal and Ms Lim), have been untruthful in their evidence, under oath, to this Committee. This may amount to perjury, a serious criminal offence, in respect of which, various consequences could follow. We elaborate on that below.”1
“Based on the evidence before this Committee, we are satisfied that Mr Singh had told untruths to this Committee.”2
“We are satisfied, on the evidence, that Mr Singh lied on affirmation…”3
“Based on the evidence available to us, we are likewise satisfied that Ms Lim and Mr Faisal have lied about the 8 Aug meeting.”4
“They [Ms Lim and Mr Faisal] did not tell the truth to this Committee about that meeting.”5
8. The Committee found that Mr Singh (and to a lesser extent, Mr Faisal and Ms Lim) were untruthful in their evidence, under oath, to the Committee.
9. The Committee found that Mr Singh lied to the Committee on the key points, as to what had happened, and tried to conceal his involvement in Ms Khan’s Untruth.
10. The Committee found that Mr Singh lied in order to put the entire blame on Ms Khan – when, in fact, she had, from 8 August 2021, followed his advice and guidance. He said two other witnesses, Ms Loh Pei Ying (“Ms Loh”) and Mr Yudhishthra Nathan (“Mr Nathan”) (Workers’ Party cadre members), lied. He said this, in an attempt to save himself, and avoid responsibility for his own conduct. The Committee found that Ms Loh and Mr Nathan were honest and credible witnesses, who spoke the truth.
11. The Committee found that contrary to his evidence, Mr Singh was the operating brain, the primary cause for: (1) why Ms Khan did not clarify the Untruth immediately after 8 August 2021, and (2) why Ms Khan repeated the Untruth in Parliament on 4 October 2021. This was consequent on its findings that:
1 Para 221(2)
2 Para 231
3 Para 233(1)
4 Para 234
5 Para 226
We use cookies to tailor your browsing experience. By continuing to use Gov.sg, you accept our use of cookies. To decline cookies at any time, you may adjust your browser settings. Find out more about your cookie preferences here .