Shanmugam to make ministerial statement on Parti Liyani case in Parliament
SINGAPORE — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam will deliver a ministerial statement on the Parti Liyani case in Parliament, the People’s Action Party (PAP) said on Wednesday (16 September).
PAP members Murali Pillai, Tan Wu Meng, Vikram Nair and Yeo Wan Ling have also filed parliamentary questions on the case, the ruling party added in its post on Facebook.
Parti, a maid working for prominent corporate leader Liew Mun Leong, was previously convicted in March 2019 and sentenced to 26 months’ jail in the State Courts for stealing items worth more than $34,000 from the household of the former Changi Airport Group (CAG) chair.
The 46-year-old Indonesian was later acquitted of all the charges in the High Court. In his ruling in early September, Justice Chan Seng Onn found that the Liew family may have had an “improper motive” in filing a police report against Parti. He also highlighted lapses in police procedures while calling into question the credibility of Karl Liew – Liew Mun Leong’s son – as a prosecution witness.
Last Thursday, Liew stepped down from his roles with the CAG, Surbana Jurong, Temasek Foundation, and Temasek International with immediate effect. Liew said the police report filed by his family against Parti was made in the genuine belief “that if there were suspicions of wrongdoing, it is our civic duty to report the matter to the police and let the authorities investigate accordingly”.
Shanmugam said at a doorstop last week that the government will review shortcomings which led to Parti’s criminal prosecution.
“The (High Court) judge’s comments, we take them very seriously. Something has gone wrong in the chain of events. We have to look at that, and deal with what went wrong,” Shanmugam was quoted as saying by news website Today.
Workers' Party (WP) chair Sylvia Lim has filed an adjournment motion in Parliament for its next sitting in October regarding Parti’s case.
The motion, filed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aljunied on Monday, is entitled “Justice For All: Enhancing Equity in the Criminal Justice System”. It will make reference to the “deeper issues” raised by Parti’s case.
“The intention is to discuss aspects of the criminal justice system and the challenges faced by persons of less means in navigating it. Specific suggestions to improve the system will be made,” said the WP in a Facebook post.
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