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In a notable court decision, Singapore's opposition leader Pritam Singh has failed in his challenge against a guilty verdict of lying to a legislative panel.

In February, Singh was fined S$14,000 for two charges related to his management of former lawmaker Raeesah Khan, who had confessed to lying in parliament.

During a short hearing before a packed public gallery on Friday, the presiding judge stated that the evidence presented upheld Singh's guilty verdict.

Leader's Response

Singh, who leads the main political opposition, expressed that he was "disappointed" with the ruling but accepted it "fully and without reservation".

He settled his fines at the court complex following the hearing. "It's best to settle this now," he commented to reporters.

Despite the conviction, Singh retains his seat in parliament and stated his intention to continue serving Singaporeans together with his party members.

The Underlying Saga

The entire episode began in 2021 when Raeesah Khan claimed in parliament that she had witnessed police misbehave towards a survivor.

She later confessed her anecdote was untrue, but stated during a official inquiry that party leaders, such as Singh, had advised her to "stick to the story" despite knowing it was a lie.

Khan has since resigned from both the party and parliament. She was penalized S$35,000 for perjury and misusing her legislative immunity.

Judicial Reasoning

In February, the court determined that Singh's actions were "strongly indicative" that he did not want Khan to correct the falsehood.

Singh, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, argued that he had wanted to allow Khan space to deal with what was a delicate issue.

The Appeal Arguments

During the appeal hearing, Singh's lawyer argued that the initial court had "ignored crucial pieces of evidence" in its initial judgment.

The defense also sought to cast doubt on the credibility of Khan and her aides, who provided testimony.

When questioned why Singh appeared to be "taking no action" to have Khan own up in the weeks following his discovery of her lie, his lawyer stated that he had other urgent professional and personal matters to attend to.

The state's attorneys, however, argued that Singh's inaction, alongside other evidence, proved he never wanted Khan to come clean.

Broader Context

Singh's case is significant as one of the very few criminal convictions against a current opposition parliamentarian.

Observers have previously accused Singapore's government of leveraging the courts to pursue its rivals—charges that authorities have consistently denied.

The Workers' Party is the only opposition party in Singapore's current parliament, where it occupies 12 out of 99 seats.