Opposition chief Pritam Singh seeks High Court trial over alleged lies

He draws parallels with Iswaran's case; AGC says both involve different facts, offences

- Selina Lum

Opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh made a bid on Aug 26 to have his upcoming trial transferred to the High Court, citing the case of former transport minister S. Iswaran.

Singh, 48, faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party's former MP Raeesah Khan.

A 16-day trial in the State Courts is scheduled to take place between Oct 14 and Nov 13. The trial is slated to be presided over by Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan.

On Aug 26, Singh's lawyer, Mr Andre Jumabhoy, made arguments to High Court Judge Hoo Sheau Peng in a bid to have the case transferred to the High Court.

He argued that it was "expedient for the ends of justice" for his client's case to be heard by the High Court. Mr Jumabhoy referred to the case of Iswaran, whose trial was transferred to be heard in the High Court after the prosecution applied to do so on grounds of public interest.

In response, Deputy Attorney General Ang Cheng Hock said there could be no comparison between the two cases, which involve different facts and offences.

He said the only issue in Singh's case was whether the prosecution could prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had lied while giving answers to the committee.

"It's a purely factual inquiry," said Mr Ang.

Iswaran, 62, faces a total of 35 charges in relation to his dealings with hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, and mainboardlisted Lum Chang Holdings' managing director David Lum.

Two of the charges are for corruption involving about $166,000, another 32 counts are for obtaining items worth more than $237,000 as a public servant, while one is for obstructing the course of justice.