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Pritam Singh unlikely to lose seat in Parliament due to criminal charges: Experts

2024-03-19 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh is unlikely to lose his parliamentary seat due to the outcome of his criminal case, though there will likely be an impact at the ballot box, said legal experts and political watchers.

The Workers’ Party chief was charged in court on March 19 with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee, sparking speculation about his political future.

The offences under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act each carry a maximum fine of $7,000 and a jail term of up to three years, or both.

As the Constitution states that an MP convicted of “an offence... and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than $10,000” faces disqualification from Parliament, some have wondered if a conviction would mean that Singh will lose his Aljunied seat.

But legal experts who spoke to The Straits Times said it was very unlikely that Singh would be disqualified, which would also preclude him from standing in the next general election, due by November 2025.

This is partly because Singh is unlikely to be looking at jail time, they noted.

Shortly after charges were tendered, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said the prosecution will not be seeking a custodial sentence, but a fine for both charges if Singh is convicted.

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This is “based on the evidence presently available and considering the totality of the circumstances”.

It will be for the court to decide whether Singh is guilty of the charges, and if so what the appropriate punishment should be, the AGC stressed.

Constitutional law expert Kevin Tan, an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Law, said Article 45(1)(e)(i) of the Constitution refers to a single offence, and not separate offences.

This means that even if Singh was sentenced to the maximum fine of $7,000 for each of the two offences he was charged with, he would not meet the threshold to be disqualified.

The point of the $10,000 threshold is to indicate the seriousness of an offence for a person to be deemed unfit as an MP, and thus, it would not make sense if cumulative offences with lower fines can trigger disqualification, he said.

Singapore Management University (SMU) Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan agreed, noting: “It would be a very strained reading to interpret the Constitution as suggesting that you can stack up the fines for different offences.”

He added: “No one should go away thinking that (Singh) will be disqualified as an MP, or disqualified from running in an election. I am not saying it is a guarantee, but he is not under any real risk.”