No apology from Karl Liew or his family, says Parti Liyani who 'lost reputation and money' after false theft claims

SINGAPORE — Ms Parti Liyani said on Friday (April 14) that neither Karl Liew nor his family had shown any sign of remorse or apologised to her after her wrongful conviction for theft and subsequent acquittal.

"It took facing legal charges that finally made him admit guilt," said Ms Parti in a statement released after Karl Liew, 45, was sentenced to two weeks' jail for lying to a judge in the criminal case which initially resulted in Ms Parti's theft conviction.

Ms Parti released the statement to the media that had been intended as a victim impact statement for the sentencing judge to consider, although the Attorney-General's Chambers had indicated to her lawyers that it was not needed.

In it, she detailed the financial and social toll of the protracted legal process, describing how she had lost friends, money and her reputation. To this day, her belongings have not been returned to her, she said.

Ms Parti had been working as a foreign domestic worker for Liew’s family for almost nine years since March 2007. Her employer was ex-Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong, Karl Liew's father.

Her employment was terminated on Oct 28, 2016, on the grounds that the family suspected she was stealing from them, and she was repatriated.

On Oct 29, 2016, the family unpacked boxes containing Ms Parti’s belongings which she had requested to be sent to Indonesia, and found items which were allegedly stolen from them.

Karl Liew and his father lodged a police report against Ms Parti the next day. 

She was arrested on Dec 2, 2016 upon her arrival at Changi Airport in Singapore to seek employment. 

She was charged in court in August 2017 with four charges, including three charges of theft in dwelling and one charge of theft as a servant.

Between April 2018 and March 2019, she was tried and convicted of four charges of stealing more than S$30,000 worth of items from the Liew family.

The convictions were overturned by High Court Justice Chan Seng Onn on Sept 4, 2020.

PAID RENT OUT OF HER OWN POCKET UNTIL HER MONEY RAN OUT

After she was arrested, Ms Parti said that she was not allowed to leave the country until the case was concluded.

She was also not allowed to work during her stay.

Ms Parti said that she was left alone to find her own accommodation and had to pay for it using her own money, which eventually ran out.

She sought help from the Singapore-based charity for migrant workers, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), which offered her shelter and food for free.

However, she was still unable to earn any income for herself and her family, including her mother who was old and unemployed.

“I come from a poor family and have been independent since very young. For every (payment of) salary that I received, I would remit part of it to my mother and siblings in Indonesia. 

"When I did not earn any income, this had definitely impacted my mother every day for four years,” she said.

After her acquittal in September 2020, Home launched a fundraising campaign to help rebuild her life.

They collected over S$28,000 within less than one day. Ms Parti said that although she was grateful, the amount “was only enough to cover a small part of what I could have earned within four years”.

Through Home’s assistance, she also managed to engage the pro bono legal services of Mr Anil Balchandani throughout the entire legal process.

REPUTATION TARNISHED IN SINGAPORE AND AT HOME, LOST FRIENDSHIPS

To add salt to wound, the high profile status of the case led to wide media coverage and tarnished her reputation.

Ms Parti said: “The accusation by Karl Liew’s father Liew Mun Leong against me had impacted badly on my reputation.”

She was also worried that her ageing mother would hear about the news since the articles covering her case were translated to Bahasa Indonesia and disseminated by the Indonesian media. 

“I tried to hide my case from my family, and I was not allowed to give any information to non-interested parties, which had cost me a few relationships with my friends in Singapore as they had lost their trust in me,” she added.

It was only after her acquittal that her reputation recovered.

She thanked High Court Justice Chan Seng Onn for overturning the conviction and the Indonesian embassy in Singapore for expressing its support through a formal statement.

“My hope remains high that this case would become the right lesson to us all. 

"As also supported by the Embassy of Indonesia in Singapore in their formal statement, it is hoped that my case shall be the last and shall not be experienced by others in the future,” said Ms Parti.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Karl Liew was sentenced to two years’ jail. This is incorrect. His jail term was two weeks. We are sorry for the error.