Parti Liyani

Parti Liyani
Born	1974
Nationality	Indonesian
Occupation	Former domestic helper
Known for	Wrongly accused of theft by employer

Parti Liyani (born 1974) is a former domestic helper from Indonesia who was accused of theft by her Singaporean employer, Liew Mun Leong. In 2019, she was sentenced to 26 months in jail when the District Court found her guilty of four counts of theft. Following a successful appeal, the High Court acquitted Parti Liyani of all charges in September 2020. She was represented by her pro bono lawyer, Anil Balchandani at both trials.

Background

Parti Liyani has worked in Singapore as a foreign domestic worker since 1996.

Employment at the Liew household (2007 - 2016)

Karl Liew and Parti Liyani in 2018. Photo credit to Koh Mui Fong/ TODAY.

From March 2007 to October 2016, Parti Liyani was employed as a domestic helper for the prominent businessman, Liew Mun Leong. According to Parti Liyani, she worked from Monday to Saturday from 5 AM to 11 PM and was paid around S$600 a month in 2016. In the nine years of her service, she reportedly had a “cordial relationship” with her employers despite occasional clashes with the son of the Liew family, Karl.

Unlawful deployment

By law, foreign domestic workers are only meant to work at their formal employer's residence. In Parti Liyani's case, her formal employer was Liew Mun Leong. However, in 2012 and 2013, she had been asked to clean Karl Liew’s office. Between September and October 2016, she was also deployed to clean his home. On these occasions, she was not fairly compensated. When Parti Liyani was fired without notice on 28 October 2016, she said the following to Karl Liew:

“I know why. You angry (sic) because I refused to clean up your toilet.”

On the day of her termination, she also said that she would report her illegal deployment to the Ministry of Manpower.

Timeline leading to Parti’s arrest

On 28 October 2016, Parti Liyani was given about two hours to pack her belongings and vacate the Liew household. After which, she immediately flew home to Surabaya, Indonesia, leaving three boxes of her belongings to be shipped over. The day after her departure, members of the Liew family found “stolen” items in these boxes. On 30 October 2016, Parti Liyani’s ex-employer, Liew Mun Leong and his son, Karl Liew filed a police report against her. Parti Liyani returned to Singapore on 2 December 2016 to seek employment but was arrested at Changi Airport upon her arrival.

Court trials

Parti Liyani and her defence counsel, Anil Balchandani, in 2020. Photo from HOME.

From 2016 to 2020, Parti Liyani was not permitted to work due to the ongoing investigations. She sought shelter at the Humanitarian Organisation for Migrant Economics (HOME) during this time. Parti was quoted to have said the following about her court case:

“While this case was ongoing, I have been hiding all these (sic) news from my family… I especially did not want my mother to know, because my mother is already so old and I did not want her to fall sick… I wasn't best able to support my family and my hometown, but prior to the trial I had told my family that I would be unable to get money, and I asked for their apology.”

In September 2020, HOME raised S$28,000 in funds to support Parti Liyani’s food business which she plans to set up once she returns to Indonesia.

District Court trial: Charges & sentencing (2017 - 2019)

The Gerald Genta watch (valued at S$10,000) from the second charge. Photo from HOME.

Parti Liyani was charged with three counts of theft in dwelling and one count of theft as a servant in August 2017 for allegedly stealing from four people in the Liew household. Her charges were as such:

Charge No.	Alleged victim	Item(s) stolen	Refs.
1st Charge (under Section 381 of the Penal Code)	Liew Mun Leong	Valuables worth S$1,400 including: Two Longchamp bags A partially spoilt Pioneer DVD player
2nd Charge (under Section 380 of the Penal Code)	Karl Liew Kai Lung	Valuables worth over S$30,000, including: A damaged S$10,000 Gerald Genta watch Two iPhones A Gucci Wallet
3rd Charge (under Section 380 of the Penal Code)	Liew Cheng May	Valuables worth S$1,100, including: S$250 Gucci sunglasses Various pieces of jewellery
4th Charge (under Section 380 of the Penal Code)	Heather Lim Mei Ern	S$1,000 Prada bag S$500 Gucci sunglasses

She was later charged with an additional offence for being in possession of items that were obtained fraudulently. Parti Liyani’s 19-day District Court trial started in April 2018. Her pro bono lawyer, Anil Balchandani argued that the items allegedly stolen by Parti Liyani were either gifted to her or items that she found to be discarded. In March 2019, Parti Liyani was found guilty of her charges but filed an appeal to the High Court against all four charges.

High Court trial: Appeal & acquittal (2019 - 2020)

In an interview with the Humanitarian Organisation for Migrant Economics (HOME), Parti Liyani’s defence counsel, Anil Balchandani shared more about the difficulties of the trial. According to the defence counsel:

“I was very impressed by Parti’s resolve. Because someone in her shoes generally faces more than just the pressure from the legal system. There is a family she has to take care of, probably living expenses in Singapore and just the inability to talk to anybody… She could’ve restarted her life, continued working in another country and just thought about what happened in October 2016 as a bad dream.”

The appeal process lasted for several months until Justice Chan Seng Onn overturned Parti Liyani's four theft charges on 4 September 2020. According to Justice Chan, the District Court did not consider the credibility of the Liew family’s testimonies, among other points. For example, Karl Liew reportedly testified in court that the multiple items of “stolen” women’s clothing belonged to him because he liked to cross-dress. Parti Liyani was acquitted of her final charge under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order & Nuisance) Act on 8 September 2020.