Singapore’s Indian-origin LoP fails in bid to transfer hearing to High Court

Singapore, Sep 9 (PTI) Singapore’s Indian-origin Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on Monday failed in his bid to have his upcoming trial over charges of lying to a parliamentary committee heard in the High Court, as his lawyers compared his case to that of former Indian-origin transport minister S Iswaran.

The 48-year-old Workers’ Party (WP) chief faces two charges of lying to a Committee of Privileges that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party’s former MP Raeesah Khan.

His lawyers had argued for his case to be transferred from the State Courts, comparing it with the case of former transport minister S Iswaran, which the prosecution had asked to be transferred to the High Court due to strong public interest considerations.

Dismissing Singh’s application, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said that there are no strong public interest considerations to justify the transfer.

She rejected Singh’s argument that his status as a politician gives rise to strong public interest considerations.

“The fundamental rule is that all accused persons regardless of their status are to be treated equally,” Justice Hoo said. “There’s no justification for treating politicians differently from other accused persons.”

She said the transfer of criminal cases from the State Courts to the High Court “depart from the ordinary course of justice” and a court’s power to order such a transfer must be exercised only “in rare and exceptional circumstances”.

While Iswaran’s case is “not completely irrelevant, “it certainly does not assist the applicant in the way he suggests”, Justice Hoo said.

She emphasised that the potentially wide-reaching impact of Iswaran’s trial is the key distinction between the two cases.

Iswaran’s case involves the interpretation of Section 165 — for obtaining valuables as a public servant — and the parameters set by the court that may provide guidance to all public servants on how not to transgress the law.

In Singh’s case, the charges against him “merely raise factual issues”, that is, whether he wilfully gave false testimony before the parliamentary committee, the judge said.

“There are no issues of law of unusual difficulty, no wider implications for the public generally, and no strong public interest considerations that warrant a transfer,” she added.

The two charges that Singh faces allege that he wilfully gave a false answer on December 10, 2021, and December 15, 2021, in the public hearing room at Parliament House.

If convicted of lying under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined up to SGD 7,000 (USD 5,300), or both per charge.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers previously said it would be seeking a fine for each of Singh’s charges if he is convicted.

A 16-day trial in the State Courts is scheduled to take place between October 14 and November 13. The trial is slated to be presided over by Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan.

Meanwhile, Iswaran, 62, faces a total of 35 charges in relation to his dealings with hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, and mainboard-listed Lum Chang Holdings’ managing director David Lum.

Two of the charges are for corruption involving about SGD 166,000, another 32 counts are for obtaining items worth more than SGD 237,000 as a public servant, while one is for obstructing the course of justice. Iswaran’s trial is set for September 24.