SINGAPORE - The authorities take very seriously the judge's comments on the case of former domestic worker Parti Liyani, who was acquitted of stealing from Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family, and will deal with what had gone wrong in the process of investigations, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam on Tuesday (Sept 8).
However, the minister cautioned against prejudging what part of the process had gone wrong, and said that the public should wait for the outcome of reviews that are now being conducted by the authorities.
Commenting on the reviews, Mr Shanmugam said: "In the process, we should not be defensive. It should not be a witch hunt. It's got to be a fair process. 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, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a grassroots event, was asked for his comments on the case, which had sparked a public outcry.
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It also led to some questioning if the class and status differences between the domestic worker and Mr Liew and his family had contributed to unfairness in the judicial process.
Asked about this, Mr Shanmugam said it is good to see justice delivered, based on the High Court's judgment. However, he stressed that the justice system is impartial to all and fair, and the status and position of the parties involved do not matter.
"(Ms Parti) was charged in a criminal case based on a complaint by the business person. The judge's judgment 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 commended Ms Parti's lawyer, Mr Anil Balchandani, who acted pro bono.
Though he has not read Mr Balchandani's submissions, he was told that Mr Balchandani had picked up on various inconsistencies in the evidence and why his client ought not to be convicted.
"He did a thorough and good job of it. That's a lawyer's job. To be thorough, to be clear, to put forward everything fairly to the court. Based on what I've heard, I think he ought to be commended. He's done a good job."
On Sunday, the Attorney-General's Chambers, the police and the Ministry of Manpower said that they are looking into the case.
Ms Parti, 46, who worked for the Liew family from 2007 to 2016, was accused of stealing more than $34,000 worth of items from them. After a trial in the State Courts, she was found guilty on four counts of theft and sentenced to jail for two years and two months in March last year.
She appealed to the High Court against her conviction and sentence, and was acquitted last Friday.
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Justice Chan Seng Onn, in his 100-page judgment on the case, found the trial judge's conviction against her to be unsafe.
He cited the handling of the evidence by the police, the recording of the allegedly stolen items and the improper motive behind the allegations of some family members.
The police said on Sunday they would be looking into several observations on police investigations made by Justice Chan.
While police did not elaborate on what these observations were, the judge had found that there was a break in the chain of custody of evidence. This created a reasonable doubt as to whether some of the allegedly stolen items discovered by the family were accurately documented by the photographs taken by the police some five weeks later.
During this period, the family were also told by the police that they were free to use the items. They took and put back items into the boxes, but it was not clear if the items that were put back were the same ones removed earlier.
Justice Chan also found that two statements were taken from Ms Parti without an interpreter.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
