Court of Three Judges to hear Law Society case against WP chief Pritam Singh on Aug 13

SINGAPORE: In March, the Law Society of Singapore initiated disciplinary proceedings against Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, after his conviction for two counts of lying had been upheld by the High Court last December.

The hearing before the Court of Three Judges has been set for 10:00 am on August 13. According to the hearing list, it is to be disciplinary proceedings for Advocates and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore.

The judges on the case are Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who will be presiding, as well as Justice Kannan Ramesh and Justice See Kee Oon. The Law Society of Singapore will be represented by Drew & Napier, while Mr Singh will be represented by Peter Low Chambers LLC.

On March 12, it was reported that a case management conference had been scheduled to be held in a Supreme Court chamber that afternoon. 

For situations involving lawyers, after the Law Society brings charges, a disciplinary tribunal gives its ruling on the case. If disciplinary action is deemed necessary, the Law Society applies to the Supreme Court for a hearing to be held by the Court of Three Judges. The court may impose such penalties as fines, suspension, or disbarment.

The Court of Three Judges is the highest disciplinary body for lawyers and will decide whether sanctions should be imposed. These include ordering an advocate and solicitor to be removed from the roll, a suspension from practice for a maximum of five years, censure, and as much as S$10,000 in fines. A combination of these sanctions is also possible.

The Raeesah Khan scandal

The legal troubles of Mr Singh, whose position as Secretary-General of Singapore’s leading opposition party was renewed for the fifth time on June 28, began in 2021, with former WP MP Raeesah Khan lying in Parliament multiple times.

Ms Khan told Parliament about a sexual assault victim whom she accompanied to a police station, where she alleged that the victim was treated insensitively. A few days later, she admitted to the party leaders that the story she told in Parliament was untrue. After Ms Khan met with Mr Singh, WP chair Sylvia Lim, and vice chair Faisal Manap, the former MP appeared to interpret their advice as to stay silent about the lie she had told.

By October, however, she met with the WP leaders again, who agreed that she should correct the lie she had told, and on Nov 1, 2021, she admitted in Parliament that the story she told was untrue.

By December, a Parliamentary Committee of Privileges (COP) had been convened to investigate the matter, and questions arose as to the advice he had given Ms Khan as to telling the truth. Mr Singh testified before the committee, and it was this testimony that later became the basis for the criminal charges filed against him.

In February 2022, the COP recommended a S$35,000 fine for Ms Khan, as well as referred Mr Singh and Mr Faisal to the Public Prosecutor for their conduct during the investigation.

After further investigations were held, Mr Singh was formally charged with two counts of lying to the COP on March 19, 2024. He was found guilty of this charge on Feb 17, 2025, and fined S$14,000.

Mr Singh went on to contest in the General Election that May, and the WP slate at Aljunied won for the fourth time.

Although he appealed his conviction, on Dec 4, 2025, the High Court upheld the decision. /TISG

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