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SINGAPORE – The President of the Workers’ Party (WP), Sylvia Lim, will not resubmit her motion for postponement to discuss the issues raised by the high-profile case involving former maid Parti Liyani.
Instead, the WP said on Friday (Oct. 2) that it will join the debate after Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam delivers a ministerial statement on the matter in Parliament next month.
Ms. Lim had previously filed a motion for adjournment entitled “Justice for All: Improving Fairness in the Criminal Justice System”, to highlight aspects of the criminal justice system and the challenges faced by the poorest in navigating he.
But the GRC deputy Aljunied was unsuccessful in a vote on the five postponement motions tabled before next week’s session. Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, whose motion was elected, will speak about passive smoking in homes next Monday.
The other three MPs, Ms. Denise Phua, Dr. Wan Rizal Wan Zakaria, and Ms. Carrie Tan, told the Straits Times that they will resubmit their motions for adjournment for the second day of the session.
On Thursday, Shanmugam said that police and Attorney General’s reviews of the handling of Ms. Parti’s case are expected to be completed in two to three weeks.
He added that he intends to make a ministerial statement in Parliament next month after the reviews are completed, and will address the questions raised.
In its statement on Friday, the WP said: “Appreciating the premium in Parliament’s time, WP will match its contribution to the debate with the ministerial statement to the extent possible.”
Therefore, Ms Lim will not seek further votes this month for the motion for adjournment she made, he added.
The Working Group also noted that while internal reviews are ongoing, the case has highlighted broader issues about the criminal justice system, including the appropriate approaches to take to diagnose and respond to deficiencies.
“The high 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 the match.
Ms. Parti, who worked for the family of former Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong for nine years, was sentenced to prison in March last year after being convicted of stealing $ 34,000 worth of items from the family.
She successfully appealed her conviction in a three-day hearing that took place between November of last year and August of this year.
His acquittal raised questions about the criminal justice system’s treatment of underprivileged people.
The news that Ms Lim’s motion to suspend was not elected drew criticism from some quarters, including non-constituent Progress Singapore MP Leong Mun Wai, who questioned whether secondhand smoke was considered “more important” than criminal justice.
This prompted the Speaker of Parliament, Tan Chuan-Jin, to explain that there are several avenues for MPs to raise issues in Parliament, in addition to submitting motions for adjournment. These include the option of presenting a substantive motion or presenting parliamentary questions.
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