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SINGAPORE: On Thursday (October 1) the Chief Justice gave Ms Parti Liyani two weeks to reconsider her request for an investigation into the alleged misconduct of two prosecutors in her case, after she expressed some doubts about his persecution.
Ms Parti, who worked as a domestic worker for former Changi Airport Group Chairman Liew Mun Leong, had requested through her lawyer Anil Balchandani that a disciplinary tribunal be established to investigate the case.
He accuses Deputy Prosecutors Tan Yanying and Tan Wee Hao of misconduct in handling his trial.
Parti had been convicted in March 2019 by a lower court of stealing items worth S $ 34,000 from Liew and her family.
However, a Superior Court judge overturned the conviction on September 4 of this year, highlighting several problems with the conviction findings and how the case was handled.
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Balchandani told the on-camera hearing on Thursday that Ms. Parti has been “somewhat overwhelmed by the events of the past month.”
“You have also drawn my attention to the fact that the most important thing on your client’s mind is the fact that he has not been to Indonesia for the past four years and naturally wants to be able to return as soon as possible,” he said. the Chief Justice in explaining his decision to postpone the case.
Because of this, Ms. Parti initially considered withdrawing her request to investigate the conduct of prosecutors.
However, she “evidently also believes that DPPs must respond to the allegations that she has raised in her affidavit and is somewhat divided among the various competing considerations,” said the Chief Justice.
Ms. Parti’s attorney requested a two-week postponement for Ms. Parti to reach a final decision on whether or not she intends to pursue the case.
PROSECUTORS WHO ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE INVESTIGATION
During the hearing, state attorney for the Attorney General Kristy Tan said that the prosecutors in question will not object to the matter being referred to a disciplinary court for investigation.
He said this “would give them the opportunity to present their account of what happened and to explain themselves fully.”
“While that is recommended to me as the appropriate course of action in light of the materials that have been submitted and that I have considered, in the current circumstances, prior to issuing orders, I believe it is appropriate to give the applicant the requested period two weeks for you to decide if you want to proceed with your application, “said Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.
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Apart from Ms Parti’s request, he also heard a request from prosecutors asking that she be allowed to intervene.
According to previous court documents obtained by CNA, prosecutors requested that their attorneys, Deputy Attorney General Hri Kumar Nair and state attorneys Jeyendran Jeyapal and Jocelyn Teo appear at the hearing.
They also requested permission to present various documents to the court, including evidence notes from Ms. Parti’s appeal, excerpts from the lower court trial, as well as evidence notes from Mr. Liew and his wife.
Chief Justice Menon agreed to the request, saying he prefers that any material “deemed reasonably relevant” be brought before the court.
Should the case be referred to a court and misconduct is found, prosecutors could face penalties such as censure, be removed from the list, be barred from applying for an exercise certificate for up to five years, or have to pay a fine. up to Singapore $ 20,000.
