Singapore—A crowdfunding campaign has raised over S$28,000 for Parti Liyani, the domestic helper from Indonesia whose 2019 conviction for stealing from her former employer Changi Airport Group (CAG) Mr Liew Mun Leong, was overturned last Friday (Sept 4).
The helper worked for the Liew family from 2007 until 2016. On March 20, 2019, District Judge Olivia Low found Ms Parti guilty of four counts of theft. She was sentenced to 26 months in jail for allegedly stealing more than S$34,000 worth of goods from the Liew family.
Ms Parti, 46, appealed the case and was successfully defended by Mr Amil Balchandani, the managing proprietor of Red Lion Circle Advocates and Solicitor. Mr Balchandani claimed that she had been framed by her employers in order to prevent her from filing a complaint of illegal deployment.
The helper’s ordeal took over three years to resolve, during which she has not been able to work and support her family back home.
A crowdfunding campaign to help Ms Parti get back on her feet was begun by HOME (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics), an organization “dedicated to improving the welfare and upholding the rights of migrant workers in Singapore” since 2004.
HOME has been given shelter to Ms Parti since December 2016, after she returned to Singapore from Indonesia. The helper came back for the purpose of finding work again, but was arrested when she returned on December 2, 2016, due to charges filed by the Liew family.
On the page for campaign to raise money for Ms Parti on the giving.sg site, HOME wrote,”Parti Liyani (Yani), a migrant domestic worker, arrived at HOME’s shelter in December 2016. She was accused of theft, and has spent almost four years at HOME’s shelter, waiting for the conclusion of her case. During this time she was not allowed to work, and thus had to rely on HOME to provide her with shelter, food, and financial assistance. She was also not allowed to leave the country, and had no means of seeing her family back home.”
Since HOME started the campaign a few days ago, $28,560 has been raised, with a total of 330 people giving toward it. The goal of the campaign had been to raise $28,000, and due perhaps to the high-profile nature of the case, many people gave to the campaign to help Ms Parti.
On her part, the helper has made her plans for the future known. HOME wrote, “Yani intends to start a food business once she is back home in Indonesia. As she was unable to earn any income for the past four years, your donations will help her rebuild her life and realise her dreams, and allow her to support herself and her family in a sustained way.” —/TISG
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