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SINGAPORE: The President of the Workers’ Party (WP) and Member of Parliament (MP) Aljunied, Sylvia Lim, will not seek further votes on the motion for adjournment that she presented to discuss the issues raised by the recent acquittal of the former maid Parti Liyani when Parliament meets in October.
Instead, WP “will match its contribution” to the debate with the ministerial statement to be made by the Minister of Law and Home Affairs, K Shanmugam, in Parliament in November, the party said on Friday (October 3).
“Appreciating the premium in the time of Parliament, WP will match its contribution to the debate with the ministerial statement to the extent possible,” the party said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Therefore, the WP chairwoman, MP Sylvia Lim, will not seek further votes in October on the postponement motion presented by her,” the party said.
Ms. Lim’s motion to speak about improving fairness in the criminal justice system was not selected in a random vote held Tuesday.
Earlier on Friday, Shanmugam said that he would make a ministerial statement in Parliament next month to address questions raised about Ms Parti’s case.
Shanmugam said he will speak in parliament after the police and attorney general’s reviews have been completed, which are expected to be completed in “two to three weeks.”
READ: Parti Liyani case – Shanmugam says ‘something went wrong’ in chain of events, urges people not to ‘prejudge’ review
On Friday, WP noted that internal reviews “on the handling of Ms. Parti Liyani’s case still require a few more weeks to conclude.”
While reviews are ongoing, the case has highlighted “broader questions” about the criminal justice system, the party said. That includes “appropriate approaches to diagnose and respond to any deficiencies.”
“The strong public interest in the case, and in the underlying issue of access to justice for all, bodes well for a critical public discussion on how the poor and disadvantaged can properly navigate the criminal justice system,” said WP .
READ: Timeline: How former maid Parti Liyani was acquitted of robbing the family of the chairman of Changi Airport Group
Ms Parti, who worked as a maid for former Changi Airport Group president Liew Mun Leong, was convicted in March 2019 by a lower court of stealing S $ 34,000 worth of items from Liew and her family.
A Supreme Court judge acquitted Ms. Parti of all charges last month, highlighting several problems with the conviction findings and how the case was handled.
Ms Parti has requested through her lawyer Anil Balchandani the creation of a disciplinary court. She accuses Deputy Prosecutors Tan Yanying and Tan Wee Hao of misconduct in handling her trial.
LEE: The case of Parti Liyani against the prosecutors postponed while she decides if she wants to abandon it
On Thursday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon gave Ms Parti two weeks to reconsider her request for an investigation into the alleged misconduct of the two prosecutors, after she expressed some doubts about how to proceed.
Ms. Parti wanted to be able to return home to Indonesia “as soon as possible”, and initially considered withdrawing her application to investigate the conduct of prosecutors.
However, she “evidently also believes that the DPPs should respond to the allegations that she has presented in her affidavit and is somewhat divided between the various competing considerations,” said the Chief Justice in explaining his decision to postpone the case. .
