AG Lucien Wong has recused himself from review of ex-maid Parti Liyani's case

[SINGAPORE] Deputy Attorney-General (DAG) Hri Kumar Nair will lead the review into the case of former domestic worker Parti Liyani - who was acquitted of stealing from Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said that AG Lucien Wong, "for personal reasons" had already recused himself from the review of this case on Sept 5, soon after the High Court judgment was released.

The statement did not elaborate on the reasons.

In response to media queries, the AGC noted that several years prior to his appointment as AG, Mr Wong sat on the Board of Directors of CapitaLand while Mr Liew was president and chief executive officer of the company.

Mr Wong stepped down from the Board in January 2006. "AG Lucien Wong and Mr Liew did not have a personal relationship, and this continues today", the statement added.

Neither Mr Wong nor the Deputy Attorneys-General were involved in any prosecutorial decisions regarding the charges brought in the case, the office further said. "This case was among those routinely handled by AGC which did not require the involvement of the AG or the DAGs."

The AGC had stated in its media statement of Sept 6 that it was studying the High Court judgment of the case to assess what further action, if any, ought to be taken, in light of Justice Chan Seng Onn's comments.

Weighing in on the case, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Tuesday that the authorities take very seriously the judge's comments on the case and will deal with what had gone wrong in the process.

"Something has gone wrong in the chain of events. We have to look at that, and deal with what went wrong," he said. "In the process, we should not be defensive. It should not be a witch hunt. It's got to be a fair process. We have to find out what happened, why it happened and then deal with it. And be accountable," he added.

THE STRAITS TIMES