Singapore — A disciplinary inquiry carried out in response to a complaint from acquitted Indonesian helper Parti Liyani was held over the course of four days, from Sept 6 to 9.
The hearing was carried out behind closed doors, with Ms Parti, who had flown home in January, testifying through a video link.
Ms Parti’s conviction for theft was overturned on Sept 4, 2020, and she was acquitted of the charges. Justice Chan Seng Onn noted in his decision that there was “reason to believe that the Liew family… took the pre-emptive first step to terminate” Ms Parti to prevent her from filing a complaint of illegal deployment.
The domestic helper had worked for the family of the former chairman of the Changi Airport Group (CAG), Mr Liew Mun Leong, from 2007 to 2016. She was dismissed from her position in his household on Oct 28, 2016, and flew home to Indonesia.
Mr Liew filed a police report against Ms Parti on Oct 30, 2016, as he claimed to have found items amongst her boxes that belonged to his family.
The helper was arrested when she returned to Singapore on Dec 2, 2016.
In August 2017, she was charged with four counts of theft, which involved 144 items valued at more than S$50,000.
Two months later, she filed a report at the Ministry of Manpower, saying she had been illegally deployed to clean the home and office of Mr Karl Liew, the son of Mr Liew Mun Leong.
On March 20, 2019, District Judge Olivia Low sentenced the helper to two years and two months in jail for theft, which Ms Parti appealed against.
Shortly after her acquittal, Mr Liew stepped down as CAG chairman.
The high-profile case led to a discussion in parliamentary about Singapore’s criminal justice system.
The lawyer who successfully defended her, Anil Balchandandi, also testified in court, according to The Straits Times, as did Mr Tan Wee Hao and Ms Tan Yanying, the two deputy public prosecutors on her case,
Ms Parti took to court on Sept 23, 2020, to seek disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutors.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said at the time that the two officers “welcome the chance to present a full and transparent account of what transpired during the trial” and “will cooperate fully in any inquiry.”
The helper’s complaint centred around the manner in which the two DPPs cross-examined her whether the DVD she was accused of stealing was functional. According to Ms Parti, they had falsely shown the DVD was working during her District Court trial in 2018.
ST added that while the schedule has been set for both sides to file their respective written submissions, there is no date yet from the tribunal to release its report. /TISG