SINGAPORE, Dec 13 — Opposition Leader Pritam Singh today apologised to the Singapore courts for statements he made on CNA programme The Assembly about a case in which he was convicted of lying to a parliamentary committee.
The interview contained Pritam’s response to questions in relation to his lying charge in the Magistrate’s Court, which was recorded on July 26 and aired on November 5.
The CNA programme was taken down by Mediacorp after the Attorney-General’s Chambers notified the broadcaster it was in contempt of court.
“I accept that my statements may be construed to be in contempt of court, including to impugn the integrity, propriety or impartiality of the court.
“Given that, I wholly and unreservedly apologise to the court and will avoid making comments to the same or similar effect in future,” the Aljunied MP and Workers’ Party secretary-general said in a Facebook post.
He clarified that while he will continue to have political differences with opponents, “those differences do not extend to tearing the system down, and questioning or impugning the integrity of the courts or even civil servants”.
Minister for Law Edwin Tong had previously described Pritam’s remarks on the “court of public opinion” as “outrageous, plainly wrong and completely unacceptable”.
Separately, the Ministry of Law said Pritam’s earlier comments suggested his prosecution and conviction were politically motivated, undermining public trust in the judiciary.
Mediacorp has also issued a statement.
“We wholly and unreservedly apologise to the court. We have taken down the interview from our platforms and channels and will avoid publishing matters that are in contempt of court in future,” it was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.