PM Lee Weighed in on Parti Liyani Case; Promised to Protect & Improve the Justice System

By
Boon Hun
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The Parti Liyani case created shockwaves in Singapore.

A foreign domestic helper was sentenced to jail, only for inconsistent testimonies and motives to surface a year later which eventually led to her acquittal.

The family which hired her could have “colluded” to throw her into jail to “silence” her and a judge overruled the previous ruling made by another judge.

And now, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has some words to say about the case.

PM Lee Weighed in on Parti Liyani Case; Promised to Protect & Improve the Justice System

On 10 Nov 2020, PM Lee took to his Facebook page to give his opinion on the Parti Liyani case.

Referencing the speech made by Law Minister K Shanmugam in parliament, he said that both sides of the house agreed that both AGC and the police had treated the case as routine.

Meaning there was no attempt by any individual or party (read: the CAG family) to influence the outcome of the case.

However, he conceded, Singaporeans have every right to be concerned about the case, which you can read about the implications here.

Pledging to “protect and improve” Singapore’s justice system, PM Lee said that if any shortcomings were to be discovered during their investigation, they will be remedied.

This way, he says, people will be assured that the justice system is “clean, just and fair”.

Law Minister’s Review On Parti Liyani Case

In a ministerial speech that lasted for over three hours, Law Minister Shanmugam laid out the facts of the case in parliament.

Pointing out that there were inconsistencies in Ms Liyani’s statements and admission to taking male clothing without permission, he said that both the police and the AGC has good reason to proceed with the case.

While some parts of Karl Liew’s conduct during the trial was suspicious, the minister said that the impression authorities got was that the Liew family were “cavalier” (not really concerned) about the prices of the items stolen from them, nor whether it belonged to them or not.

He emphasised that the case was not influenced by the ex-chairman of the Changi Airport Group (CAG) Liew Mun Leong.

When asked whether Ms Liyani is guilty or not, he said that the government will proceed based on the ruling of the High Court, which has acquitted her fully in Sep 2020.

He also said that a committee of inquiry will be held to look at the actions of the police and AGC only if there were good reasons to do so.

 

You can read about his full speech here.

Karl Liew Charged In Court

Meanwhile, after Ms Liyani was acquitted, the police revealed that they were directed to investigate the case further by the Attorney’s General Chambers (AGC) to verify if the Liew family had committed any offences.

The result was the arrest, and subsequent charge of Karl Liew, the son of ex-CAG chairman.

Liew was found to have given false information and evidence to a public servant.

While testifying, Mr Liew claimed that a cream polo T-shirt and a red blouse belonged to him, when he did not believe those statements to be true.

In addition, Mr Liew was also accused of giving a statement at his home to a public servant on 10 December 2016, saying that he found “119 pieces of clothings” belonging to him, in boxes packed by Ms Parti.

Mr Liew was offered bail of $15,000 and will return to court on 17 December.

As for Ms Liyani, it was revealed that she is now suing the “government’s lawyers”. That sounds chim so you can read more about what it means here.

Image: Facebook (Parti Liyani) & Facebook (Lee Hsien Loong)

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Boon Hun
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