An Indonesian maid who was acquitted of stealing S$34,000 worth of items from Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family said she “never thought” of pleading guilty and wanted justice to prevail.

Ms. Parti Liyani, 46, was sentenced in March 2019 to two years and two months’ jail after a district judge convicted her of four counts of theft. On Friday, the convictions were overturned after an appeal by Ms. Parti.

At a news conference on Friday evening, Ms. Parti described some of the challenges she has faced since the allegations were first made.

“I wanted for justice to prevail … during these four years, I have not been allowed to work, so I have been stuck in Singapore for four years, and not working,” she said, speaking via a translator.

On Oct 28, 2016, Ms. Parti had her employment terminated by Mr. Liew Mun Leong, after she was suspected of allegedly stealing things from their home.

She threatened to lodge a complaint with the Manpower Ministry after she was asked to clean Mr. Liew Mun Leong’s son’s home and office on multiple occasions.

“In my judgment, there is reason to believe that the Liew family took the pre-emptive first step to terminate her employment suddenly without giving her sufficient time to pack, in the hope that Ms. Parti would not use the time to make a complaint to MOM,” Justice Chan said.

The court also found that many of the items Ms. Parti was accused of stealing were “ostensibly spoilt, broken or lacking in value” to the alleged owners.