Chief Justice grants leave to probe DPPs for misconduct in former maid Parti Liyani case

Singapore

THE Chief Justice has given the go-ahead for investigations into two Deputy Public Prosecutors to commence, following a misconduct complaint by former domestic helper Parti Liyani.

DPP Tan Yanying and DPP Tan Wee Hao handled Ms Parti's theft trial in which she was accused of stealing from her former employer, Mr Liew Mun Leong, who was the ex-chairman of Changi Airport Group.

The charge alleged that Ms Parti, 46, had stolen, among other things, a Pioneer DVD player. On appeal to the High Court, the DVD player was found to be faulty, and she was acquitted of all charges.

In his judgment released on Friday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon wrote: "In particular, the applicant contends that the DPPs had, in their conduct of the trial, concealed material facts and thereby created the false impression that the device was fully functional.

"She contends that but for the false impression that had been conveyed, she would not have agreed, under cross-examination, that the device was operational. On this basis, the DPPs suggested that she had lied about the circumstances in which the device came to be in her possession. However, if she had been apprised of all the facts, there would have been no basis for the DPPs to suggest that she had been lying."

The high-profile case sparked public outcry, with questions raised about the evidence-gathering process and the way in which the trial was conducted.

Reviews by the police and AGC are expected to conclude this month.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam has said that he intends to make a ministerial statement in Parliament next month after these reviews are completed, and will address the questions raised.

Ms Parti, who worked for the Liews for nine years, had claimed trial in April 2018 to accusations that she stole $34,000 worth of items from the family.

While out on bail, she stayed at a shelter run by migrant workers' group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home). Mr Anil Balchandani, who represented her pro bono under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, was approached by the non-governmental organisation.

In March last year, the Indonesian was sentenced to 26 months in jail. She appealed against her conviction in a three-day hearing that took place between November last year and August this year.

In June, Ms Parti filed a complaint against DPPs Tan Wee Hao and Tan Yanying. In acquitting Ms Parti, one of the issues raised by High Court judge Chan Seng Onn in his judgment related to a demonstration carried out by the DPPs on a DVD player.

Ms Parti said she was allowed to take the device, as it was broken. During the trial, the DPPs showed Ms Parti that the device could play a video digitally stored in the hard disk. However, during the appeal, it was shown that the device could not play DVDs.

Justice Chan had said that if the prosecution had known of this defect, it should have fully disclosed it. If not, the trial court could be misled into thinking that the player was in good working condition when questions were put to Ms Parti. THE STRAITS TIMES