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Everything About Raeesah Khan’s Psychiatric Evaluation Made by the COP Simplified for You

2021-12-23 , 9:55 am

Well, we’re nearing the end of the year but it seems like the Workers’ Party lying saga is heating up.

Initially a “WP leadership versus Raeesah Khan and her followers'” situation, it has since devolved into a Pritam Singh versus Raeesah Khan “he-said-she-said” situation.

A Mental Disorder

Previously, Pritam Singh told the Committee of Privileges (COP) that Raeesah Khan might have lied due to suffering from dissociation, a mental health problem.

According to WebMD, individuals who suffer from this mental condition are disconnected from their thoughts, feelings, memories and surroundings. They may also lose track of time and their sense of identity.

Khan had told the Workers’ Party disciplinary panel of this condition on 29 Nov 2021, Singh described.

“It was the first time I heard of it. I asked her what dissociation was. She said ‘It’s when I talk without thinking’.”

He recommended the committee send Khan for a psychiatric assessment or evaluation.

And they did.

Here’s everything about Raeesah Khan’s psychiatric evaluation made by the COP simplified for you

“She Knew What She Was Doing”

On 22 Dec 2021, a psychiatrist appointed by the COP took to the stand to reveal his findings.

Dr Christopher Cheok, the acting chief of the department of forensic psychiatry as well as a senior consultant at the Institute of Mental Health, was the one to conduct the assessment for Khan.

In his report, Khan was not suffering from any mental disorder; this includes dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He had assessed her on 17 and 20 Dec 2021 and talked to her husband before the hearing.

Dr Cheok had also reviewed the recordings of Khan speaking in Parliament and in the hearings.

This led to him concluding that Khan knew what she was doing.

“What she said was done out of her own will and she knew what she was doing.”

Did Not Lie Impulsively

When asked by the committee about the lie on 3 Aug 2021 that started it all, Dr Cheok said that she didn’t lie impulsively, nor did it happen because she was suffering from any psychiatric disorder.

He had spoken with Khan about that day and she reported being “fully present” mentally during her speech.

He’s also observed recording of her speaking and did not see any signs of dissociation or other psychiatric disorder.

Dissociation Isn’t A Medical Diagnosis, Simply a Symptom

Khan, Dr Cheok believes, doesn’t fully understand what dissociation is, presumably aimed at the 29 Nov hearing where she told her former party’s panel that she was suffering from it.

Describing dissociation as a symptom, and not a medical diagnosis, he explained that Khan also did not fit the description of dissociative identity disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder.

Those who suffer from this condition would’ve gone through repeated childhood trauma, and speaks in different identities and voices. That is an extremely rare condition.

Did Not Reach The Threshold Of Psychiatric Disorder

According to the WP leadership’s testimonies, Khan gets emotional when her sexual assault experience was mentioned.

Dr Cheok pointed out that sexual assault is a traumatic experience, which makes it normal for victims to get emotional when it’s brought up.

However, while she had some symptoms of being psychologically traumatised, it wasn’t high enough to reach the level of a psychiatric disorder.

Here’s a simple example: everyone has glucose in his blood for energy, but you can’t say you’ve diabetes unless it’s high enough for a long period of time.

She might’ve been affected by her experience, he said, but not enough to impair her judgement or decision-making.

In this case, Dr Cheok disagrees that the trauma might have led to her sending out such a message.

You can watch the good doctor’s hearing in full below: