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10 Things to Know About Raeesah Khan’s Hearing to the Committee of Privileges

2021-12-04 , 10:59 am

Although 2021 has been a horrid year, it has not been without entertainment.

Squid Game, Ted Lasso, Hawkeye, Passing, and Nobody are just some of the shows that have distracted us from the stresses of the pandemic.

And when we grew tired of fictional dramas, the NOC Saga filled that void perfectly.

Even though the year is coming to an end, it seems that there’s one last S-drama in store for us.

Everyone thought that “Just Tell the Truth, Khan or Khannot?” would have just one episode, but it’s apparently a four-part special with an ensemble cast.

Yesterday (3 Dec), the Committee of Privileges (COP) released the report of their investigations and it turns out that Khan has let out several stunning revelations to them, days after announcing her resignation from the Worker’s Party (WP) and Parliament.

Don’t have two hours to spare? Well, here’s are 10 key revelations from the hearing:

She was Referred to the COP For Lying in Parliament

For those who’ve not watched the first episode, here’s some context:

In Aug this year, Khan had shared an anecdote in Parliament about accompanying a rape survivor to a police station where the officer had made some troubling comments about the victim’s dressing and drinking.

She claimed the alleged victim had left the police station crying due to the officer’s comments.

Despite being questioned about the anecdote several times by other MPs, Khan stuck to her story and kept shtum about the details, citing confidentiality.

The police later said that they checked their records and couldn’t find any case which fit Khan’s description. They requested an interview with Khan, but she didn’t respond to them.

Then, on 1 Nov, Khan admitted to lying about details of the rape case which she brought up in August, saying she was “not present with the survivor in the police station as [she had] described”.

As a consequence, she was referred to the COP.

Four Days After the Untruth, She Informed WP Chief About Lying

According to her testimony during the hearing, Khan said that Pritam Singh, the WP Chief, knew that her statement was untrue as early as four days after she lied in Parliament.

Khan had informed Singh on 7 Aug that her statement was false.

Three Senior WP Members Allegedly Told her to Continue with the Narrative

According to the special report released by the COP late last night, Khan met with Singh, WP chair Sylvia Lim, and WP vice-chair Faisal Manap the next day (8 Aug).

At that meeting, she revealed that her anecdote about accompanying a sexual assault victim was untrue, and that there was no way she could substantiate her claims.

She claims she sought their guidance as they were “seasoned politicians”.

“They (Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap) told her that the best thing for her to do would be to continue with the narrative that she had already given in Parliament on Aug 3 (ie keep to the lie),” the special report said.

“If Ms Khan and the WP could get away with it, there was no need to clarify the lie. If the matter was brought up again, there would also be no need for her to clarify and there was no need for the truth to be told.”.

In the hearing, three other WP members gave testimony, namely:

Ms Loh Pei Ying, former secretarial assistant to Ms Khan and secretarial assistant to WP chief Pritam Singh from March 2013 to January 2016
Mr Lim Hang Ling, former legislative assistant to Khan
Mr Yudhishthra Nathan, a volunteer

According to the special report, Khan had sent a message that day to Ms Loh and Mr Nathan about the matter which said: “Hey guys, I just met Pritam, Sylvia and Faisal. And we spoke about the Muslim issue and the police accusation. I told them what I told you guys, and they’ve agreed that the best thing to do is to take the information to the grave. They also suggested that I write a statement to send out this evening.”

The “take the information to the grave” part refers to the lie she told in parliament.

Singh Visited Khan’s Home in Oct & Allegedly Said He Wouldn’t Judge Her For Continuing to Lie

On 3 Oct, exactly a month after Khan lied in parliament, Singh apparently visited her home and “told her that if she kept to her existing narrative on the untruths which she had said on 3 Aug, there would be no judgment by him”.

Khan took this to mean that she should continue to lie if she was asked about her anecdote the next day in Parliament.

Which is exactly what happened.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam asked Khan for more details on her anecdote, but Khan declined, citing confidentiality.

It was then made clear that Khan would have to speak to the police about the matter.

But…

Senior WP Members Allegedly Directed Khan Not to Respond to the Police

We all know that Khan “ghosted” the police when they asked for an interview, but it now appears that this decision was allegedly made based on advice she had received from party leaders.

On 7 Oct, Khan received an email from the police asking her for assistance with their investigations into the matter she had raised.

When she sought guidance on what to do next from Singh and Lim, they allegedly directed Khan not to respond to the police and to ignore the requests, “as the police could not compel Ms Khan to speak with the police”, the report said.

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In Mid-Oct, WP Leaders Advised Khan to Come Clean

It was only on 12 Oct that WP leaders changed their tune, according to the report.

They felt that the matter was “not going to go away”, and decided that Khan should come clean and tell the truth.

So, on 1 Nov, Khan revealed in a Parliamentary session that she had lied about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station.

WP Leaders Allegedly Told Khan That No Disciplinary Action Would Be Taken

At the 12 Oct meeting, both Singh and Lim were present.

When Khan asked the pair if she would face disciplinary action, they said no.

This is why…

Khan & Two Other WP Members Were Shocked That the Party Had Formed a Disciplinary Panel

A day after Khan’s bombshell admission, the WP said it had formed a disciplinary panel to look into Khan’s conduct. It comprised secretary-general Pritam Singh, chair Sylvia Lim and vice-chair Faisal Manap.

“The panel will report its findings and recommendations to the central executive committee after it completes its work,” a WP spokesman said at the time.

Speaking to the COP yesterday, Khan, Ms Loh, and Mr Nathan, said they were “shocked” and “surprised” that the party had formed a disciplinary panel over her admission, presumably because:

They already knew she had lied
They had previously said she wouldn’t face any disciplinary action

WP Chief & Another Senior Member Suggested that Khan Should Resign

She was asked to come before the panel and explain why she had lied repeatedly in parliament. She met the panel again, on her request, to talk about her performance as an MP.

It was during the second meeting, on 29 Nov, that Singh and Lim allegedly asked her to resign as a WP member.

“It was suggested to her that this was for her well-being and because she no longer had the support of fellow Sengkang GRC MPs,” the report said.

A WP Member Believes WP’s Statement on Khan’s Admission Was Not Entirely Truthful

On 1 Nov, the same day Khan made her admission, WP released a statement on Facebook:

Ms Loh, former secretarial assistant to Ms Khan and secretarial assistant to WP chief Pritam Singh from March 2013 to January 2016, said she was “not fully happy” with the statement for a few reasons:

it omitted the fact Singh, Lim, and Manap had been involved
it omitted the fact that Singh had knowledge of the lie

In the statement, which was given by Singh, it said: “She (Khan) shared with me that she wanted to set the record straight in Parliament. This was the correct thing to do.”

But as Khan had revealed in the hearing, it was Singh and Lim who advised her to come clean.

Khan added that had WP had advised her to come clean in October or assist the police with their investigations, she would have done so.

“She had done neither because they had told Ms Khan that there would be no judgment if she did not clarify the truth in Parliament,” the summary said.

The WP has yet to respond to the revelations.

Interestingly, in a press conference before these revelations, WP said they had indeed known about the lie in August.

Singh said Khan initially lied to him, but when she came clean and revealed that she too had been a victim of sexual assault, he decided to give her space.

While she did not attend parliamentary sessions in September due to shingles, the party said it had advised Khan to make clarifications in Parliament. Khan, however, had repeated her lie.

Just like the NOC Saga, it’s a classic case of he said, she said.

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the first saga, it’s that many more hes and shes will be coming out to say more things about the matter.

So, stay tuned.

If you’ve hours to spend, here are the recordings of Khan’s hearing:

You can watch the oral evidence given by the WP members here.