K Shanmugam on case of maid: “Something has gone wrong in the chain of events”

Singapore — “Something has gone wrong in the chain of events” in the case of an Indonesian maid who was convicted of stealing from the family of Changi Airport Group Chairman Liew Mun Leong, according to Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam on Tuesday (Sept 8).

The maid, Ms Parti Liyani, was cleared of the charges on appeal by the High Court on Friday (Sept 4).

Speaking at the sidelines of a grassroots event, Mr Shanmugam said: “The 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.”

“At this point, we shouldn’t prejudge which part of the process went wrong. That’s why reviews are being conducted,” he said.

Mr Shanmugam said that people should wait for the outcome of the reviews and that it “should not be a witch hunt”.

“We have to find out what happened, why it happened and then deal with it. And be accountable. That’s the best way to build trust in public, in the system. To come out in public and say what steps we have taken once the reviews are done,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ms Parti has said that she forgives her former employer for accusing her of stealing from his family.

Ms Parti was sentenced to 26 months in jail in March 2019 after she was found guilty in a district court of stealing S$34,000 worth of items from Mr Liew’s family.

The maid had expressed unhappiness at being made to do the additional work of cleaning the house and office of Mr Liew’s son Karl Liew. When Ms Parti threatened to complain to the Ministry of Manpower after the sudden termination of her employment, Mr Liew and his son followed up with a police report to prevent her return to Singapore to make the complaint.

Mr Liew, who is also Chairman of Surbana Jurong, has faced much backlash about his and his family’s motivations in making a police report against Ms Parti.

In his comments, Mr Shanmugam added: “I would say, my own view is, looking at the (High Court) judge’s judgment, it is good to see justice delivered.” /TISG