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Parti Liyani case: Karl Liew to be charged with perjury

Parti Liyani and her lawyer Anil Balchandani exiting the High Court on 4 September after her acquittal. (PHOTO: Grace Baey)
Parti Liyani and her lawyer Anil Balchandani exiting the High Court on 4 September after her acquittal. (PHOTO: Grace Baey)

SINGAPORE — Karl Liew, the son of prominent businessman Liew Mun Leong, will be charged in court on Thursday (5 November) with perjury.

In a statement on Wednesday, the police said Karl will face two charges: one for giving false information to a public servant under Section 177 of the Penal Code and another for giving false evidence during a judicial proceeding under Section 193.

The maximum punishment for perjury is seven years’ jail along with a fine.

The statement comes hours after Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament on the high profile acquittal of Parti Liyani, the Liews’ former maid whom the family had accused of theft.

Shanmugam said police statements were taken from Karl on his inconsistent evidence at Parti’s trial at the State Courts after her acquittal by the High Court.

While testifying in the trial, Karl claimed to have owned some items including a Gucci wallet and a Braun Buffel wallet that had been found amongst items that Parti had intended to ship home.

Among the others, he claimed that a Helix watch was a gift from his father and that he had bought a pink knife before 2002. He also claimed to have bought a bedsheet from the UK.

However, Karl’s evidence on these items was disbelieved by the High Court.

His father denied owning the Helix watch, and the pink knife was determined to have likely been manufactured after 2002. Meanwhile, Karl’s wife denied having seen the bedsheet which had a same pattern as a quilt cover bearing an IKEA label.

When questioned about certain female clothing allegedly stolen by Parti, Karl claimed those were his and that he sometimes wore female garments.

He also claimed a damaged Gerald Genta watch was valued at $25,000 despite that its strap was broken and had a missing button-knob. A defence witness later valued the watch at $500 due to its defects.

On Karl’s evidence, Shanmugam noted that the High Court found his claims suspect as no family member could recall giving him the wallets as gifts.

While the State Courts decide to accept some parts of Karl Liew’s evidence during the trial, the High Court viewed Karl as an unreliable witness and disregarded his evidence.

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