Law Minister Edwin Tong has slammed Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh for comments that the latter made on his ongoing court case, calling them “completely unacceptable”.
In response, the Workers’ Party (WP) chief denied that what he said had denigrated any institutions.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook, MS News
Mr Singh’s remarks were made on The Assembly series by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), where he was grilled by neurodiverse individuals.
In his first national TV interview, which was posted on 5 Nov, he was asked how he felt being called a “liar” due to the case of former WP MP Raeesah Khan, who lied in Parliament.
Mr Singh was subsequently charged with two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee in relation to how he handled her lie.
But he told the panel that it was something that he doesn’t “lose much sleep” over.
Source: CNA Insider on YouTube
He pointed to how WP did “pretty respectably” in the 2025 General Election (GE2025), retaining all 10 of its seats, adding:
At the end of the day, the court of public opinion can be a bigger court than any court in the world.
He also said his political opponents would do “whatever it takes” to lower his esteem.
On Saturday (8 Nov), Mr Tong called Mr Singh’s remarks on the court of public opinion “an outrageous statement, plainly wrong and also completely unacceptable”.
He pointed out that Mr Singh was convicted for lying after going through a full and open trial, reported CNA.
Speaking to reporters during a community event at the National Community Leadership Institute, the minister said:
No one should dismiss or denigrate the court’s judgment or suggest that public opinion can somehow trump a court’s decision.
Describing that as a “very dangerous idea”, Mr Tong added that the rule of law is a “cornerstone” of Singapore’s system to prevent “rule of the mob”.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
On Mr Singh’s suggestion that the case was “part of a political attempt to attack him”, the minister said that was the kind of response seen from “populist politicians who attack judges and courts when rulings go against them”.
“This kind of irresponsible politics should have no place in Singapore,” Mr Tong maintained, accusing Mr Singh of “delegitimising our courts” and undermining public trust in Singapore’s system, law enforcement, and judiciary with his comments.
“No one is above the law, and if Mr Singh’s conviction stands, he should fully accept it and take responsibility,” stated Mr Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs.
In a Facebook post on the same day, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat agreed with Mr Tong, saying that Singapore’s prosperity and stability are built on a fair and just system.
“We should not undermine the credibility of the court,” he wrote in Mandarin, as this would reduce trust in the Republic’s institutions, law enforcement agencies, and judicial system, both at home and abroad.
Singapore’s courts are “impartial and independent”, and do not provide judgements on political factors, but facts and the law, he added.
Source: Chee Hong Tat on Facebook
Responding to Mr Tong’s comments, Mr Singh said on Facebook that his remarks on The Assembly “were not directed at the judicial system, judges, or their independence”.
Neither did they denigrate any of these institutions, he added.
He noted that there was “important context” before he made the remarks, namely that the guilty verdict in his case came out in February this year, while GE2025 took place months later in May.
WP performed respectably in GE2025, “despite the possible impact of the verdict of the magistrate’s court on voters”, he maintained.
Mr Singh appealed his guilty verdict on 4 Nov, arguing that the trial judge “ignored” crucial evidence.
The judge has reserved judgment for a future date.
Outside the court, Mr Singh said he would not make any statement until after the judgment is given.
Also read: What does WP chief Pritam Singh’s guilty verdict mean for S’pore’s political landscape?
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Edwin Tong on Facebook and MS News.