'If she tells a lie, I think she should apologise': Low Thia Khiang on Raeesah Khan in Pritam Singh's trial

SINGAPORE: Former Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang took the stand on Wednesday (Oct 23) as a prosecution witness in the trial against his successor, Pritam Singh.

Singh is accused of lying before the Committee of Privileges (COP) about what he wanted former WP member of parliament (MP) Raeesah Khan to do regarding a lie she made in parliament.

Before his hotly anticipated turn on the stand, little was known about Mr Low's involvement in the entire saga, which stemmed from Ms Khan's false anecdote on Aug 3, 2021 about going to a police station with a rape victim.

Mr Low had passed the position of secretary-general of WP to Singh in 2018 and did not contest in the 2020 General Election.

The 68-year-old opposition party veteran arrived at the State Courts at about 3pm ahead of his expected testimony, and took the stand just past 4.10pm.

Dressed in a grey suit and blue long-sleeved shirt and holding a plastic water bottle, he was calm and was seen in a witness room looking at his phone before entering.

He gave the usual affirmation to give evidence that is "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth".

Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Ben Mathias to introduce himself, Mr Low stated his full name before saying his occupation was "retired", to some laughs from the packed public gallery.

Asked what his current role was in the WP, Mr Low said he was a member of WP's Central Executive Committee (CEC), the party's central decision-making body.

He said he joined WP in 1982, first as an ordinary member, then a cadre member, then a CEC member and an organising secretary.

In 2001, he said he took over as secretary-general of the party. He has been a CEC member for more than 20 years.

Mr Tan then showed Mr Low a photograph of Low's phone, displaying a calendar invite for the date Oct 11, 2021, that read: Meet SL and PS.

Mr Low gave short answers to the questions Mr Tan posed him, prompting laughter from the gallery at various points.

He said the photo showed his phone, and that he had made the calendar entry to meet Pritam Singh and Sylvia Lim, who is currently WP chair.

"Who initiated this meeting?" asked Mr Tan.

"Er ... I recall Sylvia text(ed) me," answered Mr Low. 

"What did she say?" asked the prosecutor.

"She just say, can I meet you at such date and time," said Mr Low.

"What was the purpose of the meeting?" asked Mr Tan.

"It was not stated," replied Mr Low.

Ms Lim and Mr Singh did meet him at Mr Low's house on Oct 11, 2021, he testified.

"How did the conversation begin at this meeting?" asked Mr Tan.

"Sylvia broke the news to me that Raeesah lie(d) in parliament," said Mr Low. "And she's, uh, considering to hold a press conference for her to apologise."

He said Ms Lim did not say when Ms Khan had lied in parliament.

Asked what he replied, Mr Low said: "I said that, since Ms Khan lied in parliament, the correct forum to apologise and to clarify is parliament."

"Did you ask Ms Lim who else knew about the lie?" asked Mr Tan.

"Uh. I did ask whether the government has known about the lie," said Mr Low. "Ms Lim said the government has not known, and it's not easy to know, because there are so many police stations in Singapore."

He said Singh did not say anything at this point.

"How did you respond to Ms Lim's point that it was not easy to find out since there were so many police stations in Singapore?" asked Mr Tan.

Mr Low answered: "I said it's not the point whether or not the government can (find) out. If she tells a lie, I think she should apologise."

Asked what the demeanour of Ms Lim and Singh was during this conversation, Mr Low said Ms Lim "appeared to be anxious", but that he did not notice Singh's demeanour.

After the judge jumped in to clarify a question Mr Tan was trying to ask, Mr Tan asked: "Was there anything mentioned about Ms Khan's position as an MP?"

"There was no mention of her position," said Mr Low. "I think they did mention that they also planned to expel her (from the party)."

In response to Ms Lim's point about holding a press conference and asking Ms Khan to apologise, Mr Low said: "I remember I told them that it doesn't work to just use the press conference, or, you know, a statement. Because Ms Khan lied in parliament, as what I said earlier, the correct forum is parliament and she should apologise and clarify in parliament."

He said he did not remember how Ms Lim and Singh responded to this.

He said the pair said they would talk to Ms Khan to ask her to apologise in parliament.

"So this meeting, Mr Low, was on Oct 11, 2021. During this meeting, did Mr Singh or Ms Lim inform you that they had already told Ms Khan to clarify the untruth in parliament?" asked Mr Tan.

"No," said Mr Low.

"During this meeting, did Mr Singh or Ms Lim tell you that they had already told Ms Khan to speak to her parents about the sexual assault?" asked Mr Tan.

"No," replied Mr Low.

"During this meeting, did Mr Singh or Ms Lim tell you that on Oct 3, 2021, Mr Singh had gone to Ms Khan's house and told her to clarify the untruth in parliament the next day?" asked Mr Tan.

"No," replied Mr Low again.

He said he could not recall if Ms Lim had mentioned anything about Ms Khan's sexual assault at the Oct 11, 2021 meeting.

Mr Low said he did not have any impression as to when the lie happened, because he did not know when the parliament sitting was and he did not follow parliament closely at the time. 

"They broke news to me, so this is a problem, I participate in the discussion," he said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe I'll ask you this," said Mr Tan. "Did Mr Singh or Ms Lim actually tell you when they found out that Ms Khan had lied in parliament?"

"No," replied Mr Low.

Mr Tan then asked him how the meeting ended.

"How did this meeting end?" repeated Mr Low. "Well, they left after that."

Laughter broke out in the public gallery.

Mr Tan then asked Mr Low about another meeting he had on Oct 18, 2021, at his house, but only with Ms Lim this time.

"Who initiated this meeting?" asked Mr Tan.

"Sylvia," replied Mr Low.

"What's the purpose of this meeting?" asked the prosecutor.

"Didn't state. Just said wanted to meet me so I meet (her)," said Mr Low, again to scattered laughs from the public.

At this meeting, he said Ms Lim said Ms Khan had agreed to apologise in parliament. Mr Low responded that "we would want to look at her draft (apology)".

Asked why, he said: "Because I do not want an apology, end up with another lie."

Asked what else was discussed, he said: "Basically she just tell me I mean she has agreed and um I told her we want the draft statement from her before she go to parliament and you know apologise."

He said he first discovered that Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap had known about the untruth since Aug 8, 2021, only in August 2023.

"What was your reaction when you found out?" asked Mr Tan.

"I was, uh, I was wondering ... uh, why take so long," said Mr Low. "Take so long to ... reveal this."

Ms Khan apologised in parliament and revealed publicly that her anecdote was a lie on Nov 1, 2021.

Mr Low said he texted Singh, either on that day or the next day, to suggest forming a disciplinary panel.

"Because the party will have to look at disciplinary action, although she has apologised in parliament," said Mr Low. "And I also suggested perhaps the panel should consist of chair of the party, the vice-chair, which is Faisal Manap, and also the secretary-general, who are, you know, the leader(s) of the team, to look into the problem."

He said he was unaware, at the time he suggested convening a disciplinary panel, that the three WP leaders had known about the lie since August 2021.

He said he did not know that they had a private conversation with Ms Khan about the untruth being raised in parliament on Oct 4, 2021.

Asked if he read the COP report or followed COP proceedings, Mr Low said: "I read newspaper report. But I don't read the details."

The prosecution then ended its examination-in-chief of Mr Low, in about 20 minutes. 

The defence asked for a 15-minute break before beginning its cross-examination, and everyone rose to bow to the judge except Mr Low, who had to be prompted by the Deputy Attorney-General with hand gestures.

In cross-examination, Mr Aristotle Eng asked only one question: "Mr Low, do you agree that a lie that's been told on record in parliament would have to be clarified in parliament?"

After asking for the question to be repeated, Mr Low said: "Yes, I think so."

He was then let off the stand, with his total turn on the stand lasting under an hour, including the 15-minute break.

SINGH GRANTED REQUEST TO ATTEND DAUGHTER'S GRADUATION

After this, Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock told the court that the prosecution's last witness is the investigating officer, but that he does not need to even take the stand unless the defence has questions for him.

Mr Andre Jumabhoy said he had not considered that and asked if this could be taken "offline", meaning not in open court.

The prosecution then suggested for the investigation officer to be on standby to take the stand tomorrow morning, or have his turn on the stand dispensed with.

Mr Jumabhoy then resurfaced his previous request for the morning's hearing to be vacated for Singh to attend his daughter's graduation.

He suggested starting the trial at 11.30am, which the judge agreed with.

The judge asked if the defence intended to make an application to say that there is no case made out by the prosecution for the defence to answer.

Mr Jumabhoy agreed, but said it "hasn't been crystallised" in terms of whether it pertained to one or both charges, but "definitely the first charge".

This is the charge alleging that Singh lied to the COP about wanting Ms Khan to, at some point, clarify her lie in parliament, at the conclusion of his meeting with Ms Khan, Ms Lim and Mr Faisal Manap on Aug 8, 2021.

The defence will put in written submissions on there being no case for the defence to answer.

The trial will resume at 11.30am on Thursday. It is the last day of the October tranche, following which there are further seven days in November.

LOW COMMENTS ON IMPACT ON PARTY

Outside the court building after his testimony, Mr Low was asked by reporters what impact Singh's case had on the WP, especially in view of the general election that must be held by November 2025.

"I think Singaporeans today are mature, the voters are mature. We are now a mature democracy. The voters can make (a) distinction between who is (a) good politician and who is not a good politician," he said.

Mr Low then called Singh a "good politician", describing him as a "capable, competent leader with a heart for Singapore and Singaporeans".

In response to CNA's question of whether this case hindered Mr Low's work with the WP central executive committee, he replied: "No, it should not, it will not."