Facebook post on Pritam Singh trial leads to potential contempt of court charges
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in Singapore is considering further legal action against academic Donald Low for a Facebook post he made on October 18, which was deemed to be in contempt of court. The AGC announced on October 19 that Mr. Low had removed the post at its request. The AGC emphasized that the public should refrain from prejudging matters that are being decided in court, including the credibility of witnesses and the guilt of the accused.
The controversy surrounds Mr. Low’s comments on the ongoing trial of Pritam Singh, the Leader of the Opposition, who faces charges related to his alleged lies to the 2021 Committee of Privileges (COP). Mr. Low’s post, which questioned the credibility of witnesses, including Raeesah Khan’s former aide, and criticized the conduct of People’s Action Party MP Rahayu Mahzam, was seen as potentially interfering with the court’s proceedings.
In two subsequent posts on October 19, Mr. Low apologized for making false allegations about Ms. Rahayu and admitted that his statements could have disrupted the trial. He pledged not to make any further comments on the matter.
Ms. Rahayu, who is a member of the COP, responded by stating that she had sought legal advice and had instructed her lawyers to request an apology from Mr. Low for the defamatory remarks made about her. She affirmed her belief in healthy debate but emphasized that baseless allegations are unacceptable.
Mr. Low’s post came after new evidence was introduced during the trial, where it was revealed that Ms. Loh Pei Ying, a key witness, had redacted a message from another Workers’ Party aide, Yudhishthra Nathan, which cast doubt on the integrity of the proceedings. Ms. Loh testified that she had sought the approval of Ms. Rahayu before redacting the message, though Ms. Rahayu denied direct involvement in the redaction process.
