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SINGAPORE – Former domestic worker Parti Liyani, who was acquitted last month of stealing from the family of prominent businessman Liew Mun Leong, has decided not to go to her former employer for compensation, the High Court reported Tuesday (October 27). ).
This despite the fact that Ms. Parti suffered losses that her lawyer Anil Balchandani can quantify at $ 71,000, which includes her salary for four years and the expenses incurred by the non-governmental group Humanitarian Organization for the Economy of Migration (Home) to host it since December 2016.
Her lawyer, Anil Balchandani, told Judge Chan Seng Onn that “a lot has happened” since the High Court judge acquitted Ms. Parti, primarily that Mr. Liew has resigned from his positions at the Changi Airport Group. and Surbana Jurong.
“Regarding that, my client’s instructions were not to add more to his problems,” said Balchandani.
He was heading to court in connection with seeking compensation, which is capped at $ 10,000, under a provision of the law.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, if an accused person is acquitted of any charge and if it is proven to the satisfaction of the court that the accusation was frivolous or vexatious, the court may order the accusation or the complainant or the person about whose information the accusation it was instituted to pay up to $ 10,000 in compensation to the defendants.
Judge Chan suggested that the parties try to seek mediation, bearing in mind that the sum that Ms. Parti can claim is limited to $ 10,000.
He noted that there are public funds involved and the cost of a two or three day hearing on legal arguments, such as what amounts to “frivolous or vexatious,” will be more than that.
“Is it worth it? It doesn’t seem like it,” said the judge.
Judge Chan suggested hiring former attorneys general, such as Judge Chao Hick Tin, Mr. Chan Sek Keong, and Mr. VK Rajah, as mediators.
Balchandani said his client was looking for “a nominal amount to show that something went wrong.”
He added: “The appellant, who is now a free person, was wronged, and the AGC might be a little wiser next time.”
The case was postponed for the parties to consider mediation.
If the mediation attempt fails, Balchandani has two weeks to submit written communications, after which the prosecution has three weeks to respond and Balchandani has another week to respond.
The high-profile case sparked public outrage, with questions about the evidence-gathering process and the way the trial was conducted.
Last week, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon allowed investigations against the two prosecutors who handled Ms. Parti’s trial after she filed a complaint against them.
The Minister of Law and Home Affairs, K. Shanmugam, is expected to make a ministerial statement in Parliament next week to address the questions that have been raised about the case.
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