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Law Society of Singapore strikes Pritam Singh off the rolls

Disciplinary action against the Workers’ Party chief follows his conviction for lying to a parliamentary committee

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Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh. Photo: AFP
Bloomberg
A Singapore court barred Pritam Singh, the chief of the main opposition party, from practising law following his criminal conviction for lying under oath to a parliamentary committee.
The Law Society of Singapore brought the case after Singh was convicted last year, months before a national election, on two charges of giving false answers to a parliamentary committee. Singh was fined S$14,000 (US$10,940), and the High Court later dismissed his appeal.

The disciplinary proceedings are the latest fallout from a case that has dogged one of Singapore’s most prominent opposition politicians and raised questions over his leadership of the Workers’ Party, the main challenger to the long-ruling People’s Action Party.

Speaking during proceedings that lasted less than 30 minutes on Thursday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said both the Law Society of Singapore and Singh agreed the threshold for avoiding disbarment had not been met, while the bar for an exception was high.

Singh’s lawyer, Chelva Rajah, said his client had always shown “a deep respect” for Singapore’s courts and did not dispute that dishonesty was an essential element of the offences. “He always tries his best to act in good faith,” Chelva said, adding that Singh would continue to do so in whatever capacity remained open to him.

Singh, 50, retained his position as the party’s secretary general after surviving a special vote by party cadres in June.
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