Pritam Singh sentencing: AGC warns public against making unfounded allegations against the judiciary

SINGAPORE: The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on Monday (Feb 17) warned the public against making unfounded allegations against the judiciary after Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh was fined for lying to a parliamentary committee.

“While we respect the public’s right to comment on court decisions, members of the public should refrain from making baseless claims against the judiciary or prosecution,” the AGC said in a statement, adding that there have been online comments following the court’s judgment.

AGC said intentionally publishing comments with unfounded allegations and making suggestions of partiality against the judiciary may constitute contempt of court under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.

“There have been several cases in the past where prominent political figures have been prosecuted, including a recent case involving a former minister.

“The prosecution takes its mission to uphold the rule of law seriously, regardless of an accused person’s status or position,” it added. 

AGC urged the public to engage in “constructive discussions” while respecting the legal process and the principles of justice that underpin the nation. 

Singh was on Monday found guilty of two charges of lying to parliament and sentenced to the maximum fine of S$7,000 for each charge. 

The Leader of the Opposition was found to have given false testimony to a parliamentary committee that was looking into the conduct of former WP Member of Parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan, who had admitted to making up a story about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station.

Singh is appealing against his conviction and sentence.

He will be able to contest the upcoming General Election as the sentences for separate offences cannot be added together to disqualify him as an MP.

"If a person is charged with multiple offences and the sentence imposed for each of those offences does not reach the disqualification threshold of imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than S$10,000, the person is not disqualified from being an MP," said the Elections Department. 

"The respective sentences for separate offences cannot be added together for this purpose."

ISWARAN'S CASE

Former transport minister S Iswaran pleaded guilty on Sep 24, 2024 to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity.

The criminal trial was one-of-a-kind in recent history. The last time a minister faced a corruption probe was about 40 years ago.

The 62-year-old was sentenced to 12 months' jail on Oct 3, 2024, with the judge almost doubling the jail term of six to seven months that was sought by the prosecution.

He began his jail term on Oct 7 and was placed in home detention on Feb 7.