Singapore WP Vice-chair: Senior officials knew about Raeesah Khan’s deception but kept quiet

Singapore – Former WP MP Raeesah Khan lied to the House on August 3 and repeated the deception on October 4, according to WP vice-chair Faisal Manap, but the opposition party’s top three leaders did not inform the rest of the leadership or cadres.

The committee issued its second report on the hearings recently. According to committee minutes, Mr Faisal, WP president Pritam Singh, and chairperson Sylvia Lim will testify. Associate Professor Jamus Lim, a former Sengkang GRC MP, will also be called to testify.

Mr Singh testified on Friday. The report issued summarized Mr Faisal’s testimony on Thursday.

According to the report, Mr Faisal met with Mr Singh and Ms Lim twice before his Committee of Privileges hearing. But the Aljunied GRC MP declined to reveal what they discussed or the papers Mr Singh and Ms Lim brought to the sessions. Even if refusing to address the committee would be contempt of Parliament.

“Mr Faisal brought a letter to the hearing,” the committee said in its report. “He indicated he prepared it to remind himself of what happened,” the committee said.

After admitting on Nov. 1 that she had lied in Parliament about accompanying a sexual assault victim to a police station where the victim was handled insensitively, the committee is looking into Ms Raeesah’s actions.

MP Raeesah withdrew from WP as well as from being an MP on Nov 30.

On Dec. 3, the committee issued an earlier report in which Ms Raeesah said that WP’s top three officials instructed her to keep telling lies in Parliament.

She also stated under oath that officials ordered her not to disclose the lies if she and the party could get away with it.

The committee’s findings released on Saturday indicates that Mr Faisal said that Ms Raeesah met with Mr Singh, Ms Lim, and himself on Aug 8 and admitted to lying during her parliamentary address on Aug 3.

However, the three leaders did not respond to her confession because they had been overcome by her disclosure that she had been sexually raped as an 18-year-old student in Australia.

He has not asked any questions or had any talks concerning the lie after that encounter, the report said.

“In brief, he informed the (Committee of Privileges) that he was not engaged in anything related to the lie,” the statement said.

According to the committee’s findings, Mr Faisal acknowledged that lying to Parliament was inappropriate.