WP chairman Sylvia Lim files full motion for Parliament to debate former domestic worker Parti Liyani’s case

SINGAPORE — The Workers’ Party (WP) has filed a full motion in Parliament to discuss the high-profile court case involving Ms Parti Liyani, the former domestic helper of Changi Airport Group’s ex-chairman Liew Mun Leong, who was convicted of theft but subsequently acquitted by the High Court. 

The motion was filed by Ms Sylvia Lim, Member of Parliament (MP) for Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and supported by Ms He Tingru, MP for Sengkang GRC, wrote the WP on its Facebook page on Wednesday (Oct 21). 

Ms Lim, who is WP’s chairman, previously filed an adjournment motion to speak on enhancing equity in Singapore's criminal justice system at last week’s Parliament sitting, but her motion was not selected in a random ballot. 

An adjournment motion on secondhand smoke, filed by Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, was selected instead. 

Unlike an adjournment motion where an MP is allowed to raise additional matters of public concern at the end of a parliamentary sitting for up to 20 minutes, a full motion would allow for a debate among all MPs, and they will vote on the motion after all speeches have been made. 

The full motion, which Ms Lim filed, reads: “That this House affirms that fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore’s justice system, and calls on the government to recognise and remedy its shortcomings in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of means or social status, including facilitating a review of the justice system.”

Ms Parti was accused of theft by her former employer Mr Liew and was originally sentenced to a jail term of 26 months. 

The High Court overturned the decision and acquitted the 45-year-old Indonesian worker of all charges last month. 

The outcome of the case sparked a public outcry, raising questions about how her trial was conducted and if there were issues with the evidence-gathering process. 

The selection of Mr Ng’s adjournment motion over Ms Lim also led to the public questioning how adjournment motions are selected, prompting Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin to come out and clarify that Ms Parti’s case will be fully debated in Parliament even though Ms Lim’s adjournment motion was not selected during the random ballot.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam is expected to make a ministerial statement on the case next month, after reviews of it by the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers are completed.

Mr Liew has since resigned from his role as chairman of Changi Airport Group, as well as from various public and private sector roles.

Last week, Ms Parti decided to press on with legal action against two prosecutors who handled her theft trial, after her lawyer Anil Balchandani had told Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in a closed door hearing on Oct 1 that she was contemplating between going forward with it and returning home to Indonesia.