What happens next? Singapore politicians who've been caught having illicit affairs

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for local politics.

There were the resignations of Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and fellow People's Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Cheng Li Hui on Monday (July 17).

In a press conference later that afternoon, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed details on the resignations. 

PM Lee said he learned of the relationship after General Election 2020 but very recently, he came across information that "strongly suggested" the relationship had continued.

The Workers' Party is feeling the heat too, as a video clip circulated online on the same day appears to show an "inappropriate exchange" between two senior party members.

In the 16-second clip, WP Central Executive Committee members Leon Perera, 53, and Nicole Seah, 36, were seen looking at each other while allegedly holding hands at a restaurant.

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the party said that it is currently looking into the matter and will comment when they have the facts.

"The Party also expects all its members to fully own and account for their behaviour," it added.

Here's a list of past Singaporean politicians who've experienced similar situations and what happened next.

Michael Palmer

In December 2012, news broke of then Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer's extramarital affair with Laura Ong, a People's Association staff member who worked in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

Palmer was then MP for Punggol East Single Member Constituency (SMC).

Similar to Tan, Palmer resigned from the Speaker of Parliament position.

Palmer was reportedly the first known PAP MP to resign because of an affair.

This forced a by-election in 2013, which was won by Worker Party's (WP) Lee Li Lian. 

David Ong

Back in 2016, MP for Bukit Batok SMC David Ong landed in hot water when his alleged affair with Wendy Lim, a PAP member and grassroots volunteer saw the light of day.

He announced his resignation via a statement from the Prime Minister's Office then.

His resignation forced a by-election. And this time around, the PAP kept the seat as Murali Pillai triumphed Chee Soon Juan from Singapore Democratic Party.

Yaw Shin Leong

Such controversies are not fixated on one political party, either.

In 2012, there were allegations of Yaw Shin Leong, WP's MP, having an extramarital affair with a fellow married WP member. The party expelled Yaw with immediate effect.

A by-election followed and WP retained the seat when Png Eng Huat triumphed over PAP’s Desmond Choo.

ALSO READ: 'Everybody should draw the right conclusions': PM Lee on perception that 'PAP standards are slipping'

amierul@asiaone.com

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