A court imposed the maximum fine of S$7,000 ($5,223; £4,148) for each of two charges. Singh said that he would appeal against the conviction and sentence.

The charges relate to Singh's handling of Raeesah Khan, a former lawmaker from his party, who lied to parliament in a separate case.

The verdict in this high-profile trial comes as Singapore is gearing up for its next general election, which must be held by November. Singh's Workers' Party holds nine out of 87 elected seats in parliament.

Under Singapore's constitution, any MP can lose their seat or be barred from running for office for five years if they are fined at least S$10,000 or jailed for more than a year.

The election department has since clarified that the S$10,000 threshold only applies to a single offence, according to local media. This means Singh's fines will not trigger disqualification.

"The question on most people's minds is the consequences for the upcoming election," Chong Ja-Ian, associate professor at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC.

Singh's case could either be "played up" by state media or "fizzle out" of public attention, he said.

Singh told reporters outside the court on Monday that he intended to run in the upcoming election.

The verdict on Monday, which lasted more than two hours, was delivered to a packed courtroom. Members of the press who could not fit into the courtroom, including the BBC, viewed a livestream of the verdict from a separate room.

District Judge Luke Tan, who delivered the verdict, said several pieces of evidence showed that Singh "never wanted Ms Khan to clarify [her] lie" and had "direct and intimate involvement" in guiding Khan to continue her narrative.

Prosecutors sought the maximum fine of S$7,000 for each of Singh's two charges, while the defense asked for S$4,000.