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SINGAPORE: The findings of a High Court judge on a case in which an Indonesian maid was acquitted of robbing the family of the president of the Changi Airport Group (CAG) “raises issues that warrant further investigation,” said the Attorney General’s Office ( AGC) on Sunday (Sept. 6).
Parti Liyani, 46, was sentenced in March 2019 to two years and two months in jail after District Judge Olivia Low found her guilty of four counts of robbery. The maid was charged with stealing items worth S $ 34,000 from CAG Chairman Liew Mun Leong and her family.
On Friday, Judge Chan Seng Onn overturned the convictions and acquitted Ms. Parti of all charges, saying that the prosecution had not proven her case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“AGC will study the ruling to assess what additional measures, if any, should be taken in this case, in light of (Judge Chan’s) comments,” AGC said Sunday.
LEE: The maid acquitted of robbing the family of the president of Changi Airport Group hid her ordeal from her family
On Friday, Judge Chan said he allowed Parti’s appeal against the four charges for various reasons.
“I first observe that in the present case, which involved a voluminous number of items, the proper handling of evidence by the police and the registration of the allegedly stolen items is crucial to preserve the chain of custody of the items,” he said. . the Superior Court judge.
“Along with the existence of an inappropriate motive on the part of the members of the Liew family to mount the accusations against Parti, I consider that the sentences against Parti are not certain and, consequently, I acquit her of all charges.”
After her job was suddenly fired on October 28, 2016, as the family suspected that items had been stolen, Ms Parti threatened to file a complaint with the Ministry of Labor (MOM).
The court heard that he had been asked to clean the home and office of Mr. Liew Mun Leong’s son on multiple occasions, in addition to his employer’s home. This was in contravention of certain MOM regulations, the ruling said.
In acquitting Ms. Parti, Judge Chan found there was reason to believe that the Liew family took the “first preventive step” to suddenly terminate Ms. Parti’s employment without giving her sufficient time to pack.
This was “in the hope that he would not use the time to file a complaint with the MOM about his illegal deployment to work” for Liew Mun Leong’s son Karl Liew, AGC said of Judge Chan’s findings.
READ: Maid acquitted of stealing Singapore $ 34,000 worth of items from Changi Airport Group chairman’s home
The High Court judge also found that Liew Mun Leong and Karl Liew made a police report on October 30, 2016 to prevent Parti from returning to Singapore to file her complaint with MOM, the AGC said on Sunday.
“(Judge Chan) also did not believe the evidence of various members of the Liew family on various issues,” the AGC added.
Ms. Parti worked for the Liew family from March 2007 until her employment was terminated on October 28, 2016. On December 2, 2016, she was arrested at Changi Airport when she returned to Singapore to seek employment.
