He Ting Ru says she is happy to support Sylvia Lim’s new parliamentary motion

One of the Workers’ Party’s (WP) newest MPs, He Ting Ru, has said that she is happy to support party chairman Sylvia Lim as she gears up to raise a new motion touching on the high-profile case involving ex-maid Parti Liyani, when Parliament convenes on 2 Nov.

Ms Parti was acquitted on appeal of theft last month in a case brought by her former employer, then-Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong, early last month. On 14 Sept, just 10 days after the landmark ruling was released, Ms Lim filed an adjournment motion to examine the issues arising from the case.

Four other adjournment motions on separate issues were filed alongside Ms Lim’s motion and a ballot was organised to select which motion could be raised

The lawyer’s motion, entitled “Justice For All: Enhancing Equity In The Criminal Justice System”, lost a ballot that was called to select which motion would be heard in the House on 5 Oct. A motion filed by People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Louis Ng, calling for protection against secondhand smoke in homes, won the ballot.

The result of the ballot sparked criticism of the way the motions are selected. The WP subsequently said that Ms Lim would not seek any further ballot of the adjournment motion but has not totally abandoned her motion. It hinted that the chairman may speak up on the issue by utilising a different parliamentary procedure this month.

On Wednesday (21 Oct), the opposition party revealed that Ms Lim has filed a full motion to discuss the issues arising from the Parti Liyani case and that MPs from both sides of the aisle will be able to join the debate on the motion in Parliament.

The party also revealed that Ms He will rise to support the motion in the House. In a Facebook post published this week, the Sengkang GRC MP said that she is happy to support Ms Lim’s new motion. She wrote: “Pleasure to support Sylvia, who has filed a Full Motion on Justice For All to be debated in next month’s parliamentary sitting.”

The new motion calls on the House to affirm that “fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore’s justice system.” It also urges the government to “recognize and remedy its shortcomings in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of means or social status, including facilitating a review of the justice system.”

Sylvia Lim files full motion in Parliament on issues arising from Parti Liyani case

WP clarifies that Sylvia Lim has not abandoned her “Justice for All” parliamentary motion

No motion on Parti Liyani in the next Parliament sitting

Tan Chuan-Jin gets defensive in response to backlash for not picking Sylvia Lim’s adjournment motion

Louis Ng says he will also touch on Parti Liyani case in the face of calls for him to give way to Sylvia Lim