Singapore's Indian-origin Opposition leader found guilty of lying in Parliament
Singapore (PTI): Singapore’s Indian-origin Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was found guilty on Monday of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee, a verdict that could see him disqualified from Parliament and contesting a general election this year.
In the verdict delivered in the State Courts, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan convicted Singh of the two charges against him.
The charges against Singh relate to his handling of Raeesah Khan, a former lawmaker from his party, who lied to Parliament in a separate case.
Singh, 48, was accused of wilfully giving two false answers to the Committee of Privileges (COP) during its inquiry into Khan's case on December 10 and December 15, 2021.
The case stems from Singh’s handling of Khan’s false claim in Parliament about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station.
Singh faces up to three years in jail, a fine of up to SGD7,000 (USD 5,290), or both for each charge.
Singh’s trial began four months ago.
Politically, the conviction could disqualify Singh from his parliamentary seat and rule out his standing in the next general election which must be called by November 2025.
"Any claim he made to the COP to the contrary was a lie he wilfully told," said Judge Tan.
The sentencing in the case will be announced later in the day.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
