Sengkang Group Representation Constituency Workers' Party candidate, Raeesah Khan attends a campaign walkabout. (Photo: Getty Images)
Cover Sengkang Group Representation Constituency Workers' Party candidate, Raeesah Khan attends a campaign walkabout. (Photo: Getty Images)

MP Raeesah Khan has had a formal complaint raised against her for lying about the police mishandling a rape case

This story was first published on November 3, 2021, and updated on December 1, 2021. 


The Workers' Party (WP) has announced that Raeesah Khan has resigned from the party as well as from her position as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang GRC. 

The announcement was made in a Facebook post where the party said that its Central Executive Committee (CEC) met at 8 pm on Tuesday to “deliberate and decide" on the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee.

This Disciplinary Committee was formed to investigate lies Raeesah told in Parliament about a sexual assault case. 

In the case, MP Raeesah Khan admitted on November 1 that she has breached her parliamentary privilege by lying in parliament about a sexual assault case that she alleged was mishandled by the police.

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During the incident, Raeesah claimed that she accompanied a victim of rape to the police where she claimed the situation was mishandled by the police. This was not true and Raeesah could not provide details. 

Though she has since apologised in Parliament to the Singapore Police Force and retracted her statements, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah has still raised a formal complaint against her for breaching her parliamentary privilege.

Indranee noted that Raeesah had lied to Parliament three separate times and so she had no choice but to raise the complaint to the Committee of Privileges so that the breach of parliamentary privilege could be dealt with. 

At 4.30 pm on Tuesday this week, Raeesah told party leader Pritam Singh that she intended to resign from the party, said WP in its Facebook post. 

She then shared her letter of resignation to Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin on her social media accounts.

She wrote that it was with “a heavy heart" that she was resigning as MP for Sengkang GRC and that she would continue to assist with the Committee of Privileges which she was referred to as a result of her breaching parliamentary privilege.

Of course, many of us are only hearing of parliamentary privilege for the first time now and we will forgive you if you have no clue what any of this means. 

Below, we break down all this jargon so you can understand what is going on better.

What exactly is parliamentary privilege?

All Members of Parliament (MP) are given a special immunity from prosecution and civil lawsuits for all statements that they have made in Parliament under the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

This privilege is given to MPs so that they can speak freely and openly while raising issues from their constituents and the public.

Of course, with this comes the understanding that MPs are not to abuse this privilege by misrepresenting facts or making unsubstantiated allegations that might mislead Parliament.

“As Members of Parliament, we are granted privileges. One of those privileges is to be able to speak in Parliament with immunity,” Rajah said in November.

“Unlike other people, we can do so without fear of prosecution because of the underlying public policy interests, which is to be able to raise things, and it’s very important when we do so that we must be able to speak truth in this House, and when we assert or make allegations to be able to back them up,” she continued.

What happens when parliamentary privilege is breached?

As you can imagine, taking advantage of such an important privilege has some serious consequences. 

Under the rules of Parliament, the Leader of the House has a duty to suggest appropriate actions to be taken on issues that have come up in Parliament. These issues include situations when MPs break rules. 

As a result, In November, Rajah raised a point of order under Section 100 (7) (b) of the Standing Orders of Parliament. This section allows MPs to allege that a breach of privilege has taken place.

Rajah essentially asked that Khan’s case be referred to the Committee of Privileges.

The Committee of Privileges looks into any complaint alleging breaches of parliamentary privilege. Tan Chuan-Jin, who is the Speaker of Parliament, approved this.

The Committee of Privileges is currently made up of eight members and is chaired by Tan.

The other members include Rajah, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang GRC) and Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan (Hougang). 

In Khan’s case, Rajah and Shanmugam will recuse themselves considering that Rajah made the complaint and that Shanmugam’s ministry is involved in the case. 

Once a matter like this is referred to the committee, proceedings on the matter will cease until the committee has finished investigating the complaint and has presented its findings. The committee will then recommend what they deem fit to be done. 

What punishments can be handed down?

Punishments against MPs who breach parliamentary privilege can include a jail term not extending beyond the current session of Parliament, a fine of up to $50,000, suspension, a reprimand from the Speaker or any combination of the above.

MPs can also have their parliamentary privileges suspended which means that they will no longer be protected under it and can be liable to civil proceedings for anything said in Parliament.

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