Temasek said its senior international business adviser Liew Mun Leong has contributed to Singapore and its people, and his track record at various firms attests to that.
The investment company's comments come days after the High Court acquitted Mr Liew's former Indonesian maid of theft, in a judgment that also raised questions about the motivation of Mr Liew and his family in lodging a police report against the maid. Mr Liew is also the chairman of Changi Airport Group and Surbana Jurong.
Temasek International chief executive Dilhan Pillay said yesterday: "There are many individuals who have contributed to both public service and to the private sector in Singapore, for the benefit of Singapore and our population as a whole. Liew Mun Leong is one of those persons, and his track record at CapitaLand, at Changi Airport Group and at Surbana Jurong attests to that."
CapitaLand and Surbana Jurong are Temasek portfolio companies.
He was responding to questions from The Straits Times at a virtual media conference on Temasek's performance, and was asked whether Mr Liew's actions go against the company's values and whether it would be looking into the issue.
Mr Pillay said he would not comment further, citing ongoing proceedings on the case. The Attorney-General's Chambers and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have said they are studying the judgment to see what further action ought to be taken.
He added: "I think we should hear from Mr Liew on his side of the issue and not come quick to judgment until we have heard all sides of things."
Mr Liew had declined to comment on the judgment when contacted by The Straits Times.
Last Friday, the High Court acquitted former domestic worker Parti Liyani of stealing from Mr Liew, who is also the former chief executive of CapitaLand, and his family.
Ms Parti, 46, who worked for the Liew family from 2007 to 2016, was accused of stealing more than $34,000 worth of items from them.
In his judgment, Justice Chan Seng Onn cited, among other things, the improper motive behind the allegations of some family members. He noted that "some time prior to her termination", Ms Parti had expressed unhappiness at being made to do the additional work of cleaning the house and office of Mr Liew's son Karl.
"There is reason to believe that the Liew family, upon realising her unhappiness, took the pre-emptive first step to terminate her employment suddenly without giving her sufficient time for her to pack, in the hope that Parti would not use the time to make a complaint to MOM," the judge noted.
When Ms Parti threatened to complain to MOM after her sudden termination, Mr Liew and his son followed up with a police report to prevent her return to Singapore to make the complaint, said the judge.
