Singapore opposition leader Pritam Singh can still run in election after lying under oath

The criminal case against the Workers’ Party secretary general stemmed from lies former MP Raeesah Khan told to parliament in 2021

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Workers’ Party Secretary General Pritam Singh arrives at court in Singapore on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:45am, 17 Feb 2025Updated: 1:48am, 18 Feb 2025

Singapore’s Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was convicted and fined S$14,000 (US$10,450) on Monday by a district court in the city state on two counts of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee.

Singh, secretary general of the Workers’ Party, was fined S$7,000 for each offence and can still contest in the next election, to be called by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong by November 23 this year.

Arriving in court on Monday dressed in a short-sleeve shirt in the signature blue of the Workers’ Party, Singh spoke to the media after he was sentenced. “Consistent with the advice I have and that I’ve been given, I will be running for the general election.”

Under Singapore’s constitution, members of parliament who are convicted and fined at least S$10,000 per offence or jailed for at least a year will be disqualified and barred from running in the next election.

According to a statement issued by the Elections Department later on Monday, if a person is charged with multiple offences and the sentence imposed for each of those offences does not reach the threshold, the individual is not disqualified from being an MP.

“The respective sentences for separate offences cannot be added together for this purpose,” it said.