Mr. Liew Mun Leong accused the maid of stealing property worth nearly $ 25,000, but the court said that his family had set up a trap to prevent her from complaining about being forced to work illegally.
In a statement on September 10, Mr. Liew Mun Leong said he would immediately leave the chair of Changi Airport Group and other positions on the board of directors.
“I don’t want my current situation to become any more troubled,” said Mr. Liew.
In addition to being the Chairman of Changi Airport Group, Mr. Liew is also the chairman of Surbana Jurong Urban Consulting Company. He is also on the board of Singapore Exchange Ltd and is a senior international business advisor to the state investment fund Temasek.
Mr. Liew Mun Leong and his son Karl Liew once filed a complaint against Parti Liyani – the housekeeper of the family stole many valuables and was about to transport them back home in Indonesia. Last year, the Singapore Supreme Court charged Parti Liyani of stealing property (including watches and clothes) worth nearly $ 25,000 from Mr. Liew’s family and sentenced her to 26 months in prison. Liyani then appealed, claiming that Mr. Liew’s family had set her up to prevent her from complaining to the Singapore Ministry of Manpower about being forced to work illegally.
Last week, the court overturned this ruling, arguing that the Liews had “wrong motives” for accusing the maids. According to the judge, there is reason to believe that the Liews filed a lawsuit against the maids in order to prevent Parti Liyani from denouncing them to the Ministry of Manpower. Accordingly, this maid was forced to clean the whole house of Karl Liew, his son Liew Mun Leong and Mr. Liew’s office, while under the contract, the job was only to clean Mr. Liew’s house.
Immediately after the incident was exposed, Mr. Liew’s family was fiercely criticized. The Changi Airport fan page repeatedly appeared angry comments calling for Mr. Liew to resign. The incident also raises the question of whether there is discrimination between the wealthy business class and the poorly paid migrant workers.
Meanwhile, Temasek’s chief investment officer, Dilhan Pillay, hails Mr. Liew as one of the people who have contributed to Singapore’s growth over the years.
“There are many individuals who have contributed to both public and private service in Singapore, for the sake of the lion island nation and our people at large. Liew Mun Leong is one of those people.” Pillay talks about Mr. Liew – who used to be the Temasek Foundation’s senior international business advisor.