Embattled Workers’ Party members Leon Perera and Nicole Seah have admitted to having an affair. They have also handed in their letters of resignation, effective immediately.
Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party secretary-general Pritam Singh said the affair had started following GE2020, but they had stopped shortly after that.
He was speaking at a press conference alongside party chairman Sylvia Lim to address allegations surrounding an inappropriate exchange between Mr Perera and Ms Seah.
Image by MS News
This comes after a video circulated of the pair holding hands while drinking wine at a restaurant.
Mr Singh told the media that sometime in late 2020 and 2021, he was informed by Mr Perera’s driver via WhatsApp that Mr Perera and Ms Seah were meeting often in restaurants, “hugging each other and holding hands.”
“There was no evidence to corroborate these statements, and I didn’t know the driver personally.
“Upon receiving this information, I asked Leon if anything was going on with Nicole. He confirmed the allegations were untrue,” he said.
Mr Singh also pointed out that at the time, Mr Perera said he was seeking legal advice over an ongoing dispute with his driver and was about to terminate his services.
Following the exchange, Mr Singh said the driver shared the information with several party members, including Gerald Giam and Jamus Lim.
“When they received messages, they all sought to verify the allegations. Leon said there was no truth in them.
“Separately, other CEC members also approached Nicole after being informed by the driver. She confirmed there was no truth,” he said.
Mr Singh stressed that when the video emerged on Monday, that was the first time he and other party members saw it.
He said he immediately contacted Mr Perera and Ms Seah to meet them separately. That was when both admitted they had an affair, which started after GE2020.
“It stopped some time ago. I don’t have a fixed date, but it stopped shortly after,” Mr Singh said when asked for the exact date the affair ended.
Ms Seah submitted her letter of resignation on 18 July, while Mr Perera handed in his on Wednesday (19 July).
Copies of the letters were given to all members of the media at the press conference.
Regarding how Mr Perera and Ms Seah both denied the affair when other party members asked them about it initially, Mr Singh said they had fallen short of the standards expected of all Workers’ Party members.
“From the moment the party was made aware of the video, we got to the bottom of matters and put things right. And we did so.”
On Monday (17 July), at 11.54am, WP shared in a Facebook post that it was aware of a video circulating online. They said the clip suggested an inappropriate exchange between two senior party members.
The video in question had surfaced on Facebook merely an hour before WP’s statement, at 10.03am. It has since been taken down, but copies of the footage have been reposted by news outlets.
Mr Perera and Ms Seah were apparently having wine at an unnamed restaurant. However, their dialogue was not audible as the video had no audio.
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Featured image adapted from Workers’ Party.
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