26-yr-old Malaysian arrested in attempt to smuggle 1,376 cartons and 740 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes

Karl Liew, the son of former Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong, was sentenced to two weeks in jail for providing false evidence during the trial of Ms Parti Liyani, a migrant domestic worker who was initially convicted of stealing items worth S$50,856 belonging to Liew Mun Leong and his family — out of which S$46,856 worth of items were declared to have been stolen by Karl. Karl was charged for falsely claiming that two pieces of clothing found in Parti’s possession belonged to him and making a false statement to a police officer that he had discovered 119 pieces of clothing belonging to him in boxes packed by Parti. DJ Teo noted that his judgement would be limited to the two charges bought before him as the prosecution has focused only on a small segment of Karl’s testimony at the hearing in State Court and charged Karl Liew for having knowingly offered up false evidence in court in respect of that small segment. The sentencing judge noted that Karl’s false testimony could have resulted in a wrongful conviction of Parti and emphasized the importance of upholding the integrity of the justice system. The judge also observed that the prosecution’s submission read like mitigation for the accused, which the defense copied wholesale. The prosecution had sought the maximum fine of S$5,000, but the judge ruled that imprisonment was necessary for such cases. With remission, Karl is expected to serve nine days out of the two weeks in jail.