Govt will ‘deal with what went wrong' with case of acquitted maid but there shouldn't be witch hunt: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — Government agencies are looking into what “went wrong” in the chain of events that led to Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong’s former domestic worker being found guilty of stealing.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday (Sept 8): “In the process, we should not be defensive. It should not be a witch hunt. It’s got to be a fair process.”

Mr Shanmugam was commenting on the case on the sidelines of a media briefing about the upcoming redevelopment of Chong Pang Community Club in Yishun.

Mr Liew’s former domestic worker, Indonesian Parti Liyani, was found guilty and sentenced by a district court to two years and two months’ jail last year on four counts of stealing. Her conviction was recently overturned on appeal, with a High Court judge highlighting flaws in the investigation of the case, the credibility of the Liew family and the way the prosecution handled the case.

“The (High Court) 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,” Mr Shanmugam said. 

He added: “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.”

Mr Shanmugam said that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will consider whether any further steps ought to be taken, while the police and the Ministry of Manpower will also look into the facts of the case again to see whether more action should be taken. 

When asked for his views on public comments that the case had been between two parties of vastly different backgrounds, he said: “It is not between a very prominent business person and a foreign domestic worker. She was charged in a criminal case based on a complaint by the business person.

“The judge’s judgement goes through the facts very carefully. It sets out what the break in the chain of evidence is, and in that way, it is good to see that justice is both blind and that justice has been delivered.

He also said that Ms Parti’s lawyer, Mr Anil Balchandani, ought to be commended for his work on the case. The lawyer took up the case as a pro bono service. 

“I am told he picked up on the various inconsistencies in the evidence and why his client ought not to be convicted, and he did a thorough and good job of it... Based on what I’ve heard, I think he ought to be commended, he’s done a good job.”