No further parliamentary action against Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap over lying to committee

No further action is necessary by Parliament against Workers' Party (WP) politicians Sylvia Lim and Faisal Manap over their lying under oath, as the case falls outside a legal time bar, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said on Tuesday, 7 July 2026.

"Had the timelines been different, I would have proposed a different course of action," she told Parliament while delivering a ministerial statement on a determination of the Committee of Privileges' (COP) findings on Lim and Faisal.

Lim is a sitting Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC. Faisal lost his seat after contesting Tampines GRC instead of Aljunied in the 2025 General Election.

"This outcome has happened because even though this House was entitled to act on the committee's findings in 2021, it decided to give Ms Lim and Mr Faisal the benefit of the doubt for the time being," said Indranee.

She stressed that the time bar provisions of the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act (PPIPA) must be observed. This was so even though the COP's findings were effectively confirmed by the High Court's judgment that WP chief Pritam Singh lied to the same committee.

Knowingly giving false evidence to a parliamentary committee is dishonourable conduct and a serious contempt of Parliament, dealt with under the PPIPA, Indranee said.

"Ordinarily, if there is evidence someone has lied to a select committee, I would initiate the PPIPA process for dealing with such conduct," she said. But the Act sets limits.

Under Section 22 of the PPIPA, Parliament may only punish offences committed in the preceding session, or the last session of the preceding Parliament. Indranee said this reflected the interests of finality.

Singapore's 14th Parliament was constituted on 24 August 2020, and its first session closed on 24 March 2023. Its second session ran from 10 April 2023 until dissolution on 15 April 2025.

Lim and Faisal testified before the COP in December 2021, during the first session. Singh was convicted of lying to the COP on 17 February 2025, during the second session.

"However, Parliament rightly deferred consideration of Ms Lim's and Mr Faisal's cases until the court process had concluded," said Indranee, referring to the appeal that Singh filed at the High Court.

That appeal failed when the High Court ruled on 4 December 2025 - by which point the 14th Parliament had been dissolved, an election held, and the 15th Parliament begun.

"As the conduct in question took place during the first session of the 14th Parliament, it is no longer open to this 15th Parliament to impose any penalties in respect of this conduct under the PPIPA," she said.

Indranee said this did not mean Parliament had no recourse. "The House could, if it wished, pass a motion to express regret at such conduct," she said, adding that this would signal Parliament's disapproval, as it did in Singh's case in January 2026.

However, she noted that in the January motion, the House had already signalled its clear disapproval of lying to Parliament or its committees.

After the statement, Lim rose to respond. "I've noted what the Minister is proposing that the House do. I'm not standing up to object to it," she told Parliament.

She said she had already addressed some of the issues raised during the debate on the motion concerning the Leader of the Opposition on 14 January 2026. "I don't think I need to repeat them," she said.

Indranee thanked Lim for indicating she would not object to the recommendation. She noted that she had responded to Lim's earlier statements on 14 January, and that those responses were on record.

During that January debate, Lim had disputed any linkage between the High Court judgment and her position, noting that neither she nor Faisal participated in Singh's trial. "The Court's findings cannot be held against us," she said, adding that she disagreed with the COP's conclusions.

Indranee had replied then that although Lim and Faisal did not appear in court, both gave evidence under oath before the COP, which found they had lied about what happened at the August 2021 meeting.

The case stems from a false anecdote that former WP MP Raeesah Khan told in Parliament in August 2021, alleging that the police had mishandled treatment of a sexual assault survivor. Parliament referred the matter to the COP after Khan admitted to lying.

Khan testified that three WP leaders - Singh, Lim and Faisal - told her to continue with the lie at a meeting in August 2021. In February 2022, the COP found that all three had lied under oath in denying this.

The COP said Lim and Faisal were untruthful "to a lesser extent" and played a "relatively subsidiary role" compared to Singh. Faisal was referred to the public prosecutor for possible contempt after refusing to answer questions, and received a police advisory.

In February 2025, a district court found Singh guilty of lying to the COP and fined him S$14,000. The conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal in December 2025.

In January 2026, Parliament backed a motion expressing regret at Singh's conduct and deeming him unfit to be Leader of the Opposition. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong subsequently removed Singh from the role and invited the WP to nominate another MP. The party declined.

The WP issued a formal reprimand to Singh through its internal disciplinary process. On 28 June 2026, he survived a secret vote on his leadership with a reported supermajority and returned as secretary-general uncontested.

Lim and Faisal were also re-elected to the WP's central executive committee, where they serve as chair and vice-chair respectively.