SINGAPORE: Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh has been asked to make his defence after a State Court judge ruled that the prosecution has made out a sufficient case against him. 

The trial resumed on Tuesday (Nov 5) after a break of more than a week, with all eyes on whether Singh, 48, would take the stand. Singh told the court that he would be giving evidence in his defence. 

The Leader of the Opposition faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee that was set up to look into the conduct of former party member Raeesah Khan, who had lied in parliament about accompanying a rape victim to a police station. 

Singh is accused of falsely testifying to the Committee of Privileges on Dec 10 and Dec 15, 2021. 

The first charge alleged that he lied when he said he wanted Ms Khan to clarify her untruth in parliament, when the two met on Aug 8, 2021, along with WP leaders Sylvia Lim and Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.

The second charge alleged that he gave false answers to the parliamentary committee when he said that he told Ms Khan on Oct 3, 2021, to clarify her story about the rape survivor if the issue came up in parliament the next day.

On Tuesday morning, before a full court, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan said that he found the prosecution's case to be sufficiently strong and called on Singh to answer to his two charges. 

He delivered a brief oral judgment dealing with the defence’s submissions of no case to answer. 

The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Ang Cheng Hock, had wrapped up its case within nine days during the first tranche of hearings in October.

Four witnesses had testified for the prosecution - Ms Khan herself, WP cadres Loh Pei Ying and Yudhishthra Nathan, and former WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang. The prosecution did not call to the stand its last witness, an investigation officer, as both sides had agreed to a set of facts relating to him. 

The defence, led by lawyer Andre Jumabhoy, also completed its cross-examination of each witness. Mr Jumabhoy had repeatedly sought to impeach Ms Khan's credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her evidence. He also characterised the former WP member as a liar who told lies "non-stop". 

On the two WP cadres, Mr Jumabhoy has sought to poke holes in their testimonies by pointing out contradictions in their evidence. 

At the close of the prosecution's case, the defence said it would file written submissions arguing that there was no case for the defence to answer for the first charge but not the second charge. It later filed written submissions arguing that Singh has no case to answer for both charges. 

Judge Tan had also asked both sides to address him on words in the allegations against Singh. He noted that some words in the charges could not be found in excerpts of Singh's exchange before the COP.

In its written submissions, the prosecution said that there was no need for the present charges to be amended, and asked the court to call on Singh for his defence. However, it proposed amendments should the court feel the need to amend the charges. 

After reading both side's submissions, Judge Tan agreed with the prosecution that the current charges satisfied the requirements set out in law and that no amendments were necessary. 

The judge then invited Singh to take the stand to testify.

The second tranche of the trial is slated to go on until Nov 13. 

For each charge, Singh faces a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of up to S$7,000, or both. 

Fans of M2M can soon belt out their favourite hits like Mirror Mirror and Don't Say You Love Me live as the Norwegian pop duo will be performing in Singapore as part of their reunion concert, The Better Endings Tour 2025. 

The concert is scheduled for May 11, 2025, at 7pm at the Gateway Theatre.

Fans can register for presale access from now until 11.59pm on Tuesday (Nov 5). Following that, presales will open on Nov 7 from 10am, while general sales start on Nov 8 at 10am.

All tickets can be purchased via the Ticketmaster Singapore website. Prices range from S$148 for CAT 3 seats to S$348 for the VIP package, which includes a photo opportunity with the group.

The announcement came just two months after M2M shared their official reunion on Instagram. This tour marks their first performance together after a 22-year hiatus.

In an Instagram post, M2M shared a reel highlighting Southeast Asia on a world map, stating in the caption: “See you in three months and a hundred days (we’ve missed you in a thousand ways)!” 

The duo will kick off their tour in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2025, followed by stops in Manila, Davao and Cebu in the Philippines in May 2025 before heading to Singapore.

Marit Larsen and Marion Raven, who have been best friends since the age of five, started performing together at eight and officially became M2M in 1998 after signing with Atlantic Records.

Following their split in 2002, both Larsen and Raven pursued successful solo careers but never reunited on stage. Their comeback is especially timely, as it coincides with the 25th anniversary of their album released in 2000, Shades Of Purple.

Dua Lipa’s latest Instagram post showcases her excitement for her upcoming Singapore concert, happening Tuesday (Nov 5) night. 

The Levitating singer shared snapshots of herself exploring Katong, posing outside the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple, and enjoying a bowl of laksa with friends at the popular 328 Katong Laksa.

Her photos also show a table filled with chilli crab and zi char dishes, likely from New Ubin Seafood at CHIJMES.

“So far this tour is powered by sour plum juice, chilli crab, and laksa!” she captioned the post, adding, “What else should I try while I'm out hereeeee?”

Her comment section was filled with recommendations for local favourites like chicken rice, satay, briyani, pandan cake and nasi goreng – a nice change from the already-devoured chilli crab.

Her Singapore concert will be the first stop of her Radical Optimism Tour, which kicks off in Asia and will conclude in the US in October 2025. 

Originally scheduled for a single night on Nov 6, the Grammy-winning artiste added an extra date on Nov 5 due to high demand.

This marks Dua Lipa’s return to Singapore since she performed solo at The Star Theatre and later joined Martin Garrix at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2018. 

The Radical Optimism Tour is her third concert tour and her first stadium tour, promoting her new album of the same name.

From the suburbs of Australia to the snowy resorts in Niseko, Singaporeans are venturing overseas in search of a second property. Whether it’s an investment or to be close to your child in university, the process comes with certain costs and trade-offs.

Clarice Lau, head of sales, residential (international project marketing) from Knight Frank Singapore gives Andrea Heng the lay of the land in this week’s Money Talks.  

Here's an excerpt from the conversation: 

Andrea Heng: 
What do we need to know about buying a place in Europe versus neighboring Asia? What are the key differences?

Clarice Lau: 

For example, like UK, anyone can buy and sell there. It's a free market. But ... in Australia, you can only buy a new built property, meaning you can't buy a resale. In New Zealand right now, only Singaporeans and Australians can buy a property there.

Understanding of the rule of law and also the taxation regulations, because ultimately when you buy and sell, what are your stamp duties - which is your acquisition cost - and then what is your property tax, your ongoing cost, and then capital gains tax and things like that, or repatriation of profits. 

Andrea: 
So when it comes to buying property in Singapore ... we can use our CPF. Obviously, we can't do that for our property overseas. So how would you advise clients to fund this overseas property?  

Clarice: 
Buyers should definitely practice caution and research the financing methods available to them before proceeding to make a decision to invest in a specific city or country. There are overseas property investment mortgage available even from the local banks here in Singapore, such as DBS, UOB, OCBC, Maybank. There are also financing options available from the specific countries that I've mentioned.

So generally, buyers do have quite an array of home loans available for them and this is purely just for investment.

It has been an eventful year for Nelicia Low. The former national fencer's debut feature film Pierce has been a critical darling in film circuits throughout the world and even nabbed her the award for best director at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 

Come Thursday (Nov 7), Pierce will finally be out in Singapore – playing in theatres such as Golden Village and The Projector. Starring Taiwanese actors Liu Hsiu-fu, Tsao Yu-ning and Ding Ning, Pierce tells the story of high school fencer Zijie who chooses to trust and help his older brother Zihan after the latter is released from jail, defying their mother’s attempts to hide their traumatic past.

CNA Lifestyle recently caught up with Nelicia Low ahead of a special screening of Pierce to find out more about her and her filmmaking journey.

As it turns out, Low always knew she wanted to be a filmmaker – even as a child.

“I wanted to be a filmmaker since I was five or six. It was just something I knew I had to do in this lifetime,” said Low.

“Even my parents knew but they were in denial for a long time,” she quipped.

However, there were a few detours along the way – including her notable stint as a national fencer.

“I started fencing because, in Secondary 1, you had to pick a co-curricular activity. I got into air rifle and fencing. A lot of people thought I went from fencing to filmmaking but the truth is that I chose fencing because I like Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings,” she explained.

While some may find her inspiration for fencing unorthodox, Low’s skills were undeniable. She represented Singapore as a national fencer for five years – hanging up her rapier after the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

“At that time, I felt like I had enough amazing experiences with fencing and I just wanted to focus on my real love which was film,” said Low.

Even as a student, Low was keen on filmmaking. During her time at Raffles Girls' School (RGS), she studied film as part of the institution’s unique curriculum.

“That class was probably the first time that I studied film. We had to make a short film. My teacher showed us a few Singaporean short films and it was a nice start.”

Despite her love for the art, it took Low some time “to come to terms with the possibility of being a filmmaker”.

“I thought [being a filmmaker] was impossible…All the films I loved were movies like Pocahontas and Star Wars. Those aren’t exactly Singaporean cinema. So I thought it was just impossible,” she admitted.

She credited a scholarship-hunting session at RGS for swaying her decision.

“I picked up one of the brochures in front of me, and I turned to my friends: ‘What do you think?’ It was for the Economic Development Board scholarship,” Low recounted.

“My friends were like ‘For who?’ and I said ‘For me!’ They looked at me and all of them said in unison: ‘You know you want to be a film director right?’”

Low proceeded to share her fears with her friends to which they quelled her worries.

“It is possible. You just have to study overseas. You can actually make films anywhere in the world. You don’t have to limit yourself,” said Low’s friends.

Low said that the exchange “opened up” her mind for the first time. She then took the necessary steps to realise her dream – studying media and communications in university, doing a summer programme at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and finally, pursuing an MFA in film directing at Columbia University.

And the rest was history. Before Pierce, Low directed a slew of critically-acclaimed short films including 2015’s Freeze which was screened at the 38th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the 33rd Busan International Short Film Festival.

As one would imagine, making a feature-length film is no easy matter. In fact, the 33-year-old admitted that she came close to quitting right before the start of Pierce’s production.

“In the 10 days before Pierce started shooting, there was a moment where I thought that if I were to continue down this path in the shooting of the film, it wouldn’t be the film that I had wanted to film. The circumstances were so difficult and I tried to leave. I said: ‘I don’t want to continue because if I do, it’s not my baby anymore.’” said Low.

She added that she called her parents to inform them of her decision, thinking they would be happy to hear it.

“But my dad looked at me via FaceTime and said: ‘No, you’re not. You’re gonna go back and you’re gonna finish the film.’”

Without going into detail about what exactly happened, Low said that there were “extremely, extraordinarily difficult shooting circumstances” that were partly due to COVID-19.

“It was just one of those things where I carried this on for so long only for it to fall apart. It’s very painful. If my dad didn’t tell me to go on, I don’t think I could have done it,” said Low.

“In the end, the acceptance and empowerment from my parents was very, very meaningful. It’s one of those things in life that you always remember ‘cause finally, your parents acknowledge who you are.”

Thankfully, Pierce ended up being loved by audiences around the world. Low shared how Pierce had three sold-out screenings at the recent Busan International Film Festival.

“At the second and third screenings, people were fighting for tickets online and begging to exchange tickets because they were worried they couldn’t catch it in Korea. They didn’t know we were gonna have a Korean release. Some people were telling me they loved it so much that they came for all three screenings,” she said.

“This feels so amazing to me as a film director.”

Pierce also found a fan in an unexpected global celebrity: Pirates Of The Caribbean star Geoffrey Rush.

According to Low, Rush – who was part of the jury at the recent Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – came up to her to tell her how much he loved Pierce.

Addressing her much-publicised win at the iconic Czech film festival, Low said that the award was “more for [her] family”.

“I’m still very grateful for the award, for my family, and the fact that it opened a lot of doors for my next film,” said Low.

Low’s next film is titled Duet which is set in San Francisco. Calling it “slightly a love triangle between two female Cantonese opera singers and a guy”, Low said Duet was partly shaped by her experience of filming Pierce.

“Why am I pushing myself beyond human limits for art? That’s what inspired Duet.”

For now, Nelicia Low is looking forward to seeing how audiences react to Pierce.

“Their reactions to the characters [of Pierce] really tell me who they are [as a person]. It’s one of those things where it’s up to your interpretation. If you interpret it a certain way, it really does say something about who you are,” she shared.

In that case, what does she hope audiences take away from Pierce?

“When I make films, it’s both a form of therapy and a form of moving others. Film is a two-way street…What is unconditional love? Does the truth really matter? For me, Pierce is about comforting people.”

Pierce opens in cinemas on Nov 7 with screenings at Golden Village and The Projector.