Pritam Singh, the leader of Singapore’s opposition party, has been convicted of perjury after being found guilty of providing false testimony to a parliamentary committee.

The allegations stem from Singh’s involvement in the case of Raeesah Khan, a former member of his party, who had also misrepresented facts to the parliament in a distinct matter. For further details, you can read more about the case here.

This verdict arrives amidst Singapore’s preparations for its upcoming general election, mandated to occur by November. Currently, Singh’s Workers’ Party occupies nine out of the 87 parliamentary seats.

In Singapore, Members of Parliament (MPs) can lose their position or face a five-year disqualification from running for office if they incur a fine exceeding S$10,000 (approximately $7,440 or £5,925) or serve over a year in prison.

The judgment was delivered on Monday after an over two-hour session in a crowded courtroom. Many members of the media, unable to fit inside, watched the verdict through a livestream in an adjacent room, including representatives from the BBC.

District Judge Luke Tan, who presided over the case, mentioned various pieces of evidence indicating that Singh had “never wanted Ms. Khan to rectify [her] falsehood” and had “significant involvement” in encouraging Khan to persist in her false narrative.

Prosecutors are pursuing the maximum penalty of S$7,000 (about $5,200 or £4,200) for each of Singh’s two charges, while the defense has requested a reduced fine of S$4,000 (around $3,000 or £2,400).

Throughout the trial, Singh, 48, insisted on his innocence, contending that he aimed to allow Khan the necessary space to address a sensitive situation.

The proceedings have captured significant attention in Singapore, a country typically characterized by a stable political environment dominated by the ruling People’s Action Party, which has recently witnessed an unusual occurrence of political controversies.

The issue began in August 2021 when Khan alleged that she had observed police misconduct towards a victim of sexual assault in parliament. She later acknowledged that her claim was fabricated.

Khan faced a fine of S$35,000 (approximately $26,000 or £21,000) for her deceptive actions and for misusing her parliamentary privileges. She has since resigned from both her party and parliamentary position.

During a subsequent parliamentary investigation, Khan testified that Singh and other party leaders had urged her to “stick to the narrative” despite realizing it was untrue, prior to her eventual confession.

Singh refuted these accusations but acknowledged granting Khan “too much time” to come to terms with the situation before addressing it.

The parliamentary inquiry concluded that Singh had not been truthful, leading to a referral to the public prosecutor.

Judge Tan noted on Monday that Singh’s actions following his awareness of Khan’s falsehood suggested he did not wish for her to clarify the untruth at any time.

Singh’s Workers’ Party is the largest opposition party in the current parliament.

The party experienced notable success in the 2020 elections, boosting their representation from six to ten seats—the most significant opposition victory since Singapore’s independence in 1965. Singh was subsequently appointed as the opposition leader.

One of those ten seats has since been vacated following Khan’s departure.