Singapore, Feb 16 (PTI) Singapore Parliament has voted to refer Workers' Party secretary general Pritam Singh and MP Faisal Manap to the public prosecutor for probe into perjury allegations against them.

This came following a four-hour-long debate on two motions moved by Leader of the House Indranee Rajah.

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Addressing the House, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called it "best way forward", a Channel News Asia report.

Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan had resigned as an MP last year after conceding that she had lied in the House on August 3 and October 4, for which she faces a fine of SGD35,000 for abusing the parliamentary privilege.

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The Committee of Privileges (COP) in its final report on February 10 had said it was "satisfied" that Singh had lied while giving evidence under oath, which could amount to perjury.

Party MP Faisal Manap should also be investigated for his "refusal to answer relevant questions put by the committee", which could constitute contempt of Parliament, it had said.

Addressing the House, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the COP's recommendation to "take the transgression seriously and act on it is the best way forward".

He said this after outlining the alternative choices the COP had. It could have recommended to Parliament to administer a "token slap" on the wrist, he said.

"But that would show that we were taking a very serious matter rather lightly. Worse, by lowering our norms, we would be telling Singaporeans that it is really not so bad for elected leaders to lie," he said

He added that the COP could have recommended that Parliament itself metes out an appropriately heavy penalty.

But if the COP had recommended it and Parliament decided on the penalty itself, the opposition "would surely have cried foul and accused the PAP of using its majority to persecute the opposition", he said.

"In fact, they are already insinuating this, as a smoke screen to obscure the real issue, that the WP had lied while under solemn oath," he said.

He added that since a criminal offence appears to have been committed, Parliament should refer the matter to the public prosecutor, adding that if charges are filed after evidence is considered afresh, the two WP leaders can defend themselves in court.

"The court will have to be satisfied that their guilt has been established beyond reasonable doubt, and if they are innocent, they have nothing to fear," the Channel quoted Lee as saying.

Explaining why Singh and Faisal should be referred to the public prosecutor instead of being fined, Indranee pointed to the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act.

It details a category of offences, whose common thread is that they "essentially pervert, obstruct or prevent the processes of Parliament", she said.

For these, Parliament has the power to refer cases to the public prosecutor. She added they did so for Singh because of the "seriousness" of his conduct.

According to the COP, he had lied under oath in proceedings before a parliamentary committee conducting a formal inquiry, she said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)