SINGAPORE – Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim has resigned from political office over a “lapse of judgment” in handling his interactions with a woman, who is a member of the public.

Most of their interactions took place through online messages and they also met on the sidelines of public events, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in a statement on July 20.

Zaqy Mohamad, who is currently Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Defence, will take over as Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

Faishal, in a letter of resignation to PM Wong on July 20, said there was no physical relationship between him and the woman, and that he had not intended for the interactions to develop into one.

But he said on reflection, he recognised that his conduct “fell short of the standards expected of me and was not consistent with the responsibilities entrusted…