PM Lee on Parti Liyani case: Govt will 'strive to protect & improve' justice system

The system works equally for all, he said.

Belmont Lay | November 11, 2020, 12:55 AM

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has commented on the Parti Liyani case.

In a Facebook post on Nov. 10, he wrote that the Singapore government will “continually strive to protect and improve" the justice system so that people could be assured that it was "clean, just and works equally for all”.

PM Lee was responding to the Ministerial Statement by Law Minister K Shanmugam in Parliament last week on the Parti Liyani case.

Supporting Shanmugam’s Ministerial Statement, PM Lee said he had “comprehensively put forward the facts of the case”.

“Building a democratic society based on justice and equality is a fundamental goal of our nation,” PM Lee wrote.

“To do this, we need proper and fair enforcement of our laws.”

"Both sides of the House agreed that it had been treated as a routine case by the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), and that there was no attempt by any party to influence its outcome."

He added: "This case has generated much attention and concern from Singaporeans, and understandably so. If we find shortcomings in our criminal justice system, then we must remedy them.

"We will continually strive to protect and improve our justice system, so that people can be assured that it is clean, just and works equally for all."

Background

Shanmugam said in his statement in Parliament on Nov. 3 that Parti’s employer Liew Mun Leong, who was the former Changi Airport Group chairman, did not influence the case.

Shanmugam added that the case was treated as any other theft case and handled accordingly, with no attempt by anyone to influence the police and the AGC in connection with the case.

Parti, an Indonesian former domestic helper, was acquitted by the High Court in September of stealing from her then-employer after being convicted in 2019.

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