Tears flowed at an
emotionally-charged press conference where the anguished mother of a murdered
bank manager sought Najib Abdul Razak’s intervention.
Claiming that a miscarriage of justice had occurred, Law Boh Ing wanted the prime minister, chief justice and attorney-general to set things right.
"I hope our prime minister, chief justice and attorney-general hear our concerns and give us an answer," she said amid sobs, flanked by her daughter.
At one point, the deceased Wong Jing Kui's elder sister Hie Huong lost her composure when she and her mother were describing her brother’s injuries.
Unable to control her emotions, she had to leave the press conference room briefly.
Jing Kui was killed on June 14, 2012 and hired killer, Ling Hoe Ing, later pleaded guilty to charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by the Sibu High Court last year.
Meanwhile, two others, who allegedly abetted the crime, walked free last week after the Sibu High Court discharged them but not amounting to an acquittal.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who organised the press conference, explained that Ling was charged with culpable homicide instead of murder as part of a plea bargain.
In exchange, he was expected to become the prosecution’s witness in trying Jing Kui’s wife Ling Hang Tsyr and her alleged lover Tiong King Guan for abetting the murder.
Murder and abetting murder both carry the mandatory death penalty.
Hoe Ing reportedly admitted in court that he was in debt, and was instigated by Tiong to commit the murder in exchange for settlement of the debt, while Hang Tsyr left the house’s back door and bedroom door open for him to enter.
Police later found Jing Kui, who was a manager at the HSBC Bank’s Sibu branch, dead in a pool of blood in his bedroom with multiple slash and stab wounds.
However, when the case against Hang Tsyr and Tiong was heard in February this year, the defence counsel successfully argued that there was no abatement to murder since Hoe Ing had only admitted to "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".
Charges reduced
The charges against the duo were then reduced to the same charges against Hoe Ing - culpable homicide not amounting to murder - and the case was sent from the High Court to the Sessions Court to be heard.
"When the charges were reduced, we had told the deputy public prosecutor (Musli Abd Hamid) to appeal. We even reminded him that this has to be be done in 14 days, because all the lawyers we have consulted said he should appeal.
"He wrote back and said he was instructed not to appeal. Instead the charges would be amended back to Section 302 of the Penal Code (murder) when the case is mentioned at the Sessions Court.
"As a result, we are in this mess today," said Hie Huong.
According to The Borneo Post last week, the Sibu Sessions Court judge Amernudin Ahmad slammed the application to amend the charges as abuse of the court process.
Subsequently, Hang Tsyr and Tiong, were discharged not amounting to acquittal.
Hie Huong said she was informed by the prosecution that it does not intend to appeal the case before the Sept 23 deadline, but instead apply to the High Court to revise the Session Court’s decision.
"This case has set a bad precedent. You could hire a killer to kill someone you dislike, and you get away with murder… The mastermind escapes with murder, and the scapegoat hired killer is sentenced to jail," said the family's lawyer Christina Teng.
She also complained that the deputy public prosecutor for the case has been changed five times over the past two years and were inexperienced.
In contrast, she said the defence counsel had a strong team of four persons, with a combined experience of about 150 years in total.
Lim also pointed out that in the murder of millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya, the hired killers and the mastermind were all convicted and sentenced, and questioned why Jing Kui’s murder was treated differently.
He added that the family has sent letters appealing to Najib and de facto law minister Nancy Shukri yesterday, and he would be following up on those letters tomorrow.
Related news: Family of slain Sarawak bank manager
seeks PM’s help to pursue killers http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/family-of-slain-sabah-bank-manager-seeks-pms-help-to-pursue-killers?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.hdTCfavo.dpufClaiming that a miscarriage of justice had occurred, Law Boh Ing wanted the prime minister, chief justice and attorney-general to set things right.
"I hope our prime minister, chief justice and attorney-general hear our concerns and give us an answer," she said amid sobs, flanked by her daughter.
At one point, the deceased Wong Jing Kui's elder sister Hie Huong lost her composure when she and her mother were describing her brother’s injuries.
Unable to control her emotions, she had to leave the press conference room briefly.
Jing Kui was killed on June 14, 2012 and hired killer, Ling Hoe Ing, later pleaded guilty to charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by the Sibu High Court last year.
Meanwhile, two others, who allegedly abetted the crime, walked free last week after the Sibu High Court discharged them but not amounting to an acquittal.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who organised the press conference, explained that Ling was charged with culpable homicide instead of murder as part of a plea bargain.
In exchange, he was expected to become the prosecution’s witness in trying Jing Kui’s wife Ling Hang Tsyr and her alleged lover Tiong King Guan for abetting the murder.
Murder and abetting murder both carry the mandatory death penalty.
Hoe Ing reportedly admitted in court that he was in debt, and was instigated by Tiong to commit the murder in exchange for settlement of the debt, while Hang Tsyr left the house’s back door and bedroom door open for him to enter.
Police later found Jing Kui, who was a manager at the HSBC Bank’s Sibu branch, dead in a pool of blood in his bedroom with multiple slash and stab wounds.
However, when the case against Hang Tsyr and Tiong was heard in February this year, the defence counsel successfully argued that there was no abatement to murder since Hoe Ing had only admitted to "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".
Charges reduced
The charges against the duo were then reduced to the same charges against Hoe Ing - culpable homicide not amounting to murder - and the case was sent from the High Court to the Sessions Court to be heard.
"When the charges were reduced, we had told the deputy public prosecutor (Musli Abd Hamid) to appeal. We even reminded him that this has to be be done in 14 days, because all the lawyers we have consulted said he should appeal.
"He wrote back and said he was instructed not to appeal. Instead the charges would be amended back to Section 302 of the Penal Code (murder) when the case is mentioned at the Sessions Court.
"As a result, we are in this mess today," said Hie Huong.
According to The Borneo Post last week, the Sibu Sessions Court judge Amernudin Ahmad slammed the application to amend the charges as abuse of the court process.
Subsequently, Hang Tsyr and Tiong, were discharged not amounting to acquittal.
Hie Huong said she was informed by the prosecution that it does not intend to appeal the case before the Sept 23 deadline, but instead apply to the High Court to revise the Session Court’s decision.
"This case has set a bad precedent. You could hire a killer to kill someone you dislike, and you get away with murder… The mastermind escapes with murder, and the scapegoat hired killer is sentenced to jail," said the family's lawyer Christina Teng.
She also complained that the deputy public prosecutor for the case has been changed five times over the past two years and were inexperienced.
In contrast, she said the defence counsel had a strong team of four persons, with a combined experience of about 150 years in total.
Lim also pointed out that in the murder of millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya, the hired killers and the mastermind were all convicted and sentenced, and questioned why Jing Kui’s murder was treated differently.
He added that the family has sent letters appealing to Najib and de facto law minister Nancy Shukri yesterday, and he would be following up on those letters tomorrow.
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