SINGAPORE, Nov 5 — Karl Liew, the son of former Changi Airport Group (CAG) chairman Liew Mun Leong, was charged today with lying while testifying during a trial involving the Liew family’s former domestic worker, and for lying to a police officer.
The former private banker, 43, faces one count of furnishing false information to a public servant and one count of giving false evidence during a judicial proceeding.
The first charge carries a maximum punishment of seven years’ jail and a fine, while those convicted of giving false evidence can be jailed up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or both.
It is the latest twist in a high-profile case involving Indonesian domestic worker Parti Liyani, 46, who was accused of theft by the Liews, but was acquitted of all charges by the High Court after an appeal.
Court documents showed that Karl Liew is accused of telling a police officer that he had found 119 pieces of clothing belonging to him in boxes packed by Parti. The police statement was taken on Dec 10, 2016 at his home along Chancery Lane near the Dunearn Road area.
He also allegedly gave false evidence during Parti’s trial before District Judge Olivia Low on July 17, 2018 that a cream-colour polo T-shirt and a red blouse belonged to him.
He was legally bound by an oath at the time.
His lawyer, Adam Maniam from Drew & Napier, told the court that the case “concerns matters that took place quite some time ago” and asked for a six-week adjournment.
Karl Liew, who turned up in court limping and accompanied by a woman, was offered court bail of S$15,000. He was ordered to surrender his travel documents and not to contact any prosecution witnesses.
He will return to court on Dec 17.
Following Parti’s acquittal in September for stealing about S$34,000 worth of items from the Liew family, the Attorney-General’s Chambers directed the police to investigate and assess if the Liews had committed any offences.
The High Court judge who acquitted Parti had questioned Karl Liew’s credibility as a witness during her trial, including his claims that he wore women’s clothing.
Most of the items that Parti was accused of stealing allegedly belonged to him.
The case sparked much public discussion and raised questions about how her trial was conducted, as well as whether there were any issues with the evidence-gathering process.
Karl Liew’s father, Liew Mun Leong, is a prominent business figure in Singapore who held positions in various government-linked companies before he retired from all his private and public sector roles in September.
This included the chairmanship of Changi Airport Group and infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurong.
Judge troubled by evidence given
Karl Liew testified in Parti’s trial in the State Courts in 2018, along with other family members. She was charged in late 2016.
Parti had been the live-in help for eight years at Liew Mun Leong’s home on Chancery Lane. Karl Liew lived along the same road.
She was fired on Oct 28, 2016 and went back to Indonesia the same day. Karl Liew and his father then filed a police report against her.
Parti was convicted and sentenced to 26 months’ jail in March last year. When she appealed, the High Court acquitted her of all theft charges in September.
In acquitting her, Justice Chan Seng Onn said that Karl Liew was “not only lacking in credibility but did not take the process of giving testimony seriously”.
The judge said that he was “troubled by various aspects of Karl’s evidence”. For example, Karl Liew’s claim that he had several items of women’s clothing, some of which were for smaller-sized women, was “highly suspect”.
He had testified that he sometimes cross-dressed but his mother, wife and sister said that they never saw him doing so.
Some items he said that Parti had stolen, such as a Helix watch that he valued at S$50, turned out to be a free door gift.
He also claimed that his family gave him the watch, a Gucci wallet and a Braun Buffel wallet, but none of his family members could recall doing so.
Justice Chan also found that Karl Liew had “fabricated his testimony” about a bedsheet, which he had claimed he bought from a retailer called Habitat in the United Kingdom and was worth S$100. The judge believed Parti’s evidence that she bought it, along with a quilt cover, as a set from Ikea.
In October 2017, Parti filed a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower about being illegally deployed to work at Karl Liew’s home and his office.
