Prosecution slams Pritam over WP panel’s ‘conflict of interest’, Pritam denies previous plans to fire Raeesah – Mothership.SG

On the second day of questioning by the prosecution, Opposition Leader Pritam Singh once again found his integrity under scrutiny.

Morning On the 12th day of the hearing, Singh argued that he handled the lie told by former Labor Party (WP) member of parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan in a “sensitive” manner.

After lunch, Raeesah was questioned by the WP disciplinary committee formed to deal with her.

Potential conflict of interest

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the WP was announced on November 2, 2021, a day after Raeesah confessed her first lie to parliament.

The prosecution’s case was based on the fact that Raeesah’s overall performance as an MP was addressed in her first trial. meeting With the panel on November 8th.

Deputy Attorney General Ang Cheng Hock argued that the commission had uncovered issues with Raeesah’s performance to justify her removal from the party.

He questioned Singh’s decision to be on the panel despite his claim that he predetermined Raeesah’s fate.

Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang has been stated before He said both Singh and WP president Sylvia Lim told him at a meeting on October 11, 2021 that they planned to expel him from the WP.

When asked about this issue in court on November 6, Singh said, “I don’t remember it that way,” but recalled that they discussed whether the issue was something that would lead to the expulsion of a member.

Ang also pointed out that Singh’s presence on the disciplinary panel was a potential conflict of interest, given how early Raeesah learned of her lie and admitted she should have been more proactive in pursuing it.

It was to “protect” Raeesah

Ang noted that since Singh is a lawyer himself, he would be “absolutely aware” of issues around conflict of interest and bias in the matter.

Singh said he wanted to keep the matter between those already involved, considering Raeesah being a victim of sexual assault a “sensitive” issue.

“It was actually a way to protect him,” he said.

Both sides reached an impasse, and Ang chose to address the issue from another angle.

He asked whether Singh had considered asking Raeesah on behalf of the disciplinary committee if she would mind if others knew about the matter.

Singh said the thought “never crossed his mind.”

Hearing this, Ang stated that Singh’s thinking, or rather his lack of thought, was “not normal”.

Singh said Raeesah’s fate was not predetermined

As the discussion continued, Ang repeatedly suggested that he thought it was okay for Singh to be on the panel even though he had a conflict of interest.

Raising his voice, he sought confirmation from Singh and asked: “Am I right?”

“No, you are wrong,” Singh replied.

Singh stated that the prosecution’s statement was a controversial issue.

From Singh’s perspective, he and Lim had never discussed Raeesah’s expulsion in the first place and there was no conflict of interest.

While Singh could not speak on Lim’s behalf, he said he was “not prejudging.”

Singh also denied telling former WP chief Low Thia Khiang that he had informed the panel of the plan to expel Raeesah.

“Because there was no such plan,” he said simply.

WP MPs allegedly raise issues about Raeesah

As for why the panel brought up Raeesah’s performance as an MP during the meeting, Singh explained that “one issue led to another”.

After Raeesah’s lie was exposed, “many party members” raised issues with Raeesah, so he decided to expand the scope of the investigation to address these issues at once.

“It was just about channeling the feedback appropriately,” he said.

Ang insisted that such feedback had nothing to do with lies.

But Singh disagreed, saying it was not possible for the panel to know the relevance of the feedback in advance.

The prosecution was not convinced.

“The truth is, Mr Singh, that you asked for so many complaints to be brought to the panel because you and Ms Lim had already decided to expel him,” Ang said.

However, Singh maintained that Raeesah had gone through a fair disciplinary process.

Singh’s cross-examination will continue on November 8.

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Top image via Mothership