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Maid on trial for stealing over $50,000 in items from Changi Airport Group chairman

Parti Liyani allegedly stole more than $50,000 worth of items from Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family. (PHOTO: Facebook / Parti Liyani)
Parti Liyani allegedly stole more than $50,000 worth of items from Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family. (PHOTO: Facebook / Parti Liyani)

An Indonesian domestic worker who worked for Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong is on trial for allegedly stealing branded goods and other items from her employer’s household.

Parti Liyani, 43, also stands accused of stealing from Liew’s son, former private banker Karl Liew, Karl’s wife Heather Lim, and Karl’s sister May Liew Cheng from their Chancery Lane residence on 28 October 2016. The maid had been working for Liew’s household for eight years up until the point she left Singapore in October 2016.

Parti is contesting her four charges of theft, with one charge having been stood down for the purposes of the trial, which began on Monday (23 April).

Court documents said Parti had stolen items with a collective value of $50,856 from the Liew family. Stolen items belonging to Liew Mun Leong, who is also CapitaLand Group’s founding president and former chief executive officer, include a DVD player valued at $1,000 and two Longchamp bags worth $400 in total.

The bulk of the allegedly stolen items belong to Karl Liew, including a damaged Gerald Genta watch with a broken strap worth $25,000; two white iPhone 4 smartphones with accessories valued at $2,056; 120 pieces of male clothing valued at $150 each; and a $500 blanket.

Other items allegedly stolen include a pair of Gucci sunglasses valued at $250 belonging to May Liew, and a $1,000 Prada bag belonging to Lim.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Tang Ru Long, who conducted preliminary investigations into the case and took the stand on Monday, said that Parti had left Singapore on 28 October 2016, two days before Liew lodged a police report about the alleged thefts. Tang issued a warrant of arrest for Parti and she was arrested at Changi Airport upon returning to Singapore on 2 December that year.

Parti has been staying at a shelter run by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) while awaiting her trial. A member of the HOME staff has posted bail for her.

The NGO said it has also engaged a pro bono lawyer, Anil Narain Balchandani, to represent Parti. The current tranche of the trial is scheduled until Wednesday.

If convicted of theft as a servant, Parti may be jailed up to seven years and/or fined on each count.

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