Lawyer Who Defended Former CAG Family Maid Explains Why He Did That In HOME Video

Lawyers don’t exactly have the best reputation.

In fact, if you look up the word liar in certain dictionaries, “lawyer” would be listed as a synonym.

This isn’t an entirely fair characterisation, of course, as it suggests that all lawyers are willing to lie just to make some cash.

But there are certainly good attorneys out there, ones who are willing to fight for the little guy, even if they’re not going to receive a single cent in return.

Defended CAG Family Maid For Free

Take Singapore defence lawyer Anil Balchandani, for example. Balchandani was the man who defended Parti Liyani, a foreign domestic worker who was accused of stealing more than $34k worth of items from her employers, Changi Airport Group (CAG) chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family.

These included a $10,000 Gerald Genta watch and two iPhones with accessories valued at more than $2,000.

Parti was found guilty on four counts of theft on 20 Mar 2019 and sentenced to two years and two months’ jail, but after appealing, she managed to get her conviction overturned, and she was acquitted.

The High Court judge Chan Seng Onn said that the Liew family had “improper motives” and found the testimony of Karl Liew, Liew’s son, “highly suspect”.

As for the ‘stolen’ items, they all turned out to be either Parti’s belongings, items she found in the trash, or things she had not even packed.

While some are venting their fury at the Liew family, who they believe framed Parti, many are commending Balchandani for defending the poor helper in a 10-month long trial pro bono.

Discussed Case in HOME Video

On Wednesday (9 Sept), Balchandani talked about the arduous task he had undertaken in defending Parti in a video posted by the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME).

The video was shot before their appeal’s success, on 23 Aug 2020.

In the video, Balchandani said he knew right from the start that it was going to be a long trial, simply because of the “sheer number of items” he had to deal with.

“And I didn’t have any assistants, so I had to rely on a well-managed or well-accounted for set of documents, understand Parti’s instructions clearly”, he said.

He also admitted that the odds were stacked against Parti because they were up against a rich and powerful family.

“We were up against a very tenacious set of prosecutors, we also were up against a very prominent family…” he said.

A Stroke of Good Luck

A strong resolve was never going to be enough in a trial with such a strong adversary; Parti needed some luck as well.

Balchandani recounts how during the appeal process, which lasted three days, the court agreed to their request to present all the ‘stolen’ items.

Usually, this would be done orally.

But fortunately, by allowing them to exhibit the supposedly stolen items, they could show the judge that a lot of the clothes, DVD players, and jewellery, was old and outdated.

“And we had to basically convince the judge, look, why would someone steal junk?”

Could Easily Have Pleaded Guilty

As Balchandani noted, Parti could easily have pleaded guilty back when the offer was given in 2017.

“…she would have been at home now, two and a half years down the road, or perhaps even quicker because the offer was for just a couple of charges, or at least one or two charges”.

“And she could’ve restarted her life, continued working in another country, and just thought about what happened in October 2016 when she was dismissed as just a bad dream, you know.”

In other words, pleading guilty would have been the easier thing to do, because of the powerful family she was coming up against and the offer of a shorter sentence.

But because of her resolute determination to prove her innocence, Parti chose to tread the tougher road.

HOME Believed in Parti’s Innocence

The lawyer also said that many foreign workers don’t know their rights, and because they’re financially strapped, they can’t afford to defend themselves.

He added that because some foreign workers don’t know who to turn to, they feel it’s “convenient to apologise and plead guilty” because then they’ll be sent home.

“…which is what they really want after a little while of being accused and interrogated, and that in itself is an injustice”.

Fortunately for Parti, the HOME team stepped in to help the 45-year-old domestic worker defend herself.

“It was a group of very dedicated, in fact, mostly women, who believed also in Yani’s innocence.”

Foreign Workers are Politically Unrepresented

Towards the end of the video, Balchandani laments how foreign workers are treated, especially when they are accused of a crime, and says that more should be done for them.

“Our criminal justice system doesn’t necessarily protect them when there’s an accusation against them.”

“And as we get a little more advanced as a nation, we need to realise that the system as we envision it doesn’t cater for these unrepresented folks and I’m talking about politically unrepresented, and the reason why I say that is with proper representation these issues are naturally heard. But without this representation, you don’t know until something terrible happens.”

It’s certainly heartwarming to see that in a world where principles and morals are often forgotten when financial rewards are in reach, some still believe in upholding the values of our justice system.

You, sir, are a hero.