SINGAPORE: Ms Loh Pei Ying, then secretarial assistant to Ms Raeesah Khan and member of the Workers’ Party (WP) for a decade, took the stand for the prosecution on Thursday (Oct 17) in the trial against WP chief Pritam Singh.
Ms Loh resigned from the party in late 2022, about a year after Ms Khan admitted to lying in parliament about accompanying a rape victim to a police station.
The head and co-founder of the editorial studio Kontinentalist, Ms Loh was active in media operations for WP including during the 2020 General Election, when Ms Khan was elected as member of parliament for Sengkang GRC.
She described her relationship with Singh as “professional”, while Ms Khan called her a “confidante” and friend.
Here are 10 key quotes from Ms Loh on day four of Singh’s trial, in response to questions from the prosecution.
1. On why she and Singh avoided talking about the lie out loud at a meeting on Aug 10, 2021
“This sounds a bit silly but, (there was a prevalent belief) between myself, (WP cadre member Yudhishthra Nathan) and Ms Khan that our phones might be bugged, or listened to in some shape or form, because I think she had received a text from Apple a while ago that state forces were … trying to get into her phone.
“Mr Singh also was generally, I guess, worried about this, so actually when I met him I had to hand over my phone and keep it in the drawer behind him.”
2. On what was discussed at a meeting Ms Loh had with Singh and WP cadre member Yudhishthra Nathan on Oct 12, 2021
“We discussed at first the sort of considerations if (Ms Khan) were to retain the lie or to come clean. We had discussions around … if there would be a by-election following her resignation, what sort of punishment or consequences on her if she were to reveal the truth, which would be to face the COP.
“We also talked obviously about how the party would be perceived to have this … on our record.
“We discussed also … the impossibility of retaining the lie, because there was a surety that Minister Shanmugam would pursue the matter until it was addressed so it could not be kept a secret anymore.”
3. Ms Loh on her concerns about the impact on the Workers’ Party
“I was concerned that people would criticise the party as one that has no integrity, full of liars … it will obviously affect party support and our votes at the next election.”
4. On feeling “assuaged” by what Mr Low Thia Khiang supposedly said
“Mr Singh shared that he had consulted with Mr Low Thia Khiang on the matter and that Mr Low thought the best course of action was to make a clarification in parliament, and that the WP would survive the sort of falling out that would follow.
“Given that Mr Nathan and I had a lot of faith and confidence in Mr Low’s opinion, we were very assuaged that that was his decision and advice.”
5. On whether the sexual assault bit should be included in Ms Khan’s clarification statement
“We deliberated a little on whether or not we should include the fact that she is also herself a sexual assault victim, which Mr Singh was of the view that a statement could be made without, but I was of the view that that’s no good for the party.”
