Pastor Koh’s wife seeks police update on abduction case
Susanna Liew says all she knows about her husband’s abduction was from the media despite several announcements by police of ‘so-called developments, leads or arrests’.
PETALING JAYA: The wife of Pastor Koh Keng Joo, who was abducted last February, today asked the police to arrange a meeting to give her a proper update about her husband’s case.
Susanna Liew Sow Yoke made the request in a statement following Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar’s disclosure to the media yesterday that police had found fresh clues to the puzzling abduction of the 62-year-old Koh here on the morning of Feb 13.
“As with the previous announcements made by the IGP to the media about my husband’s abduction, on April 6 and May 24, I have not been briefed about any of these so-called developments, leads or arrests by the police.
“Like the rest of Malaysia, all I know is what I have read in the media,” Liew said.
Khalid told reporters at an open house in Bukit Aman yesterday that police found photos believed to be of Koh’s residence and his car when they raided the house of a drug trafficking suspect.
The raid was conducted after the suspect had been killed in a shootout with police in Kampung Weng Dalam, Kedah, on June 17.
Khalid said three other suspects from the same group, as well as the dead suspect’s wife, had been arrested and brought to Kuala Lumpur for further questioning. They were picked up in Kuantan, Kota Bharu and Kuala Kangsar.
“We believe this group is connected to the abduction of Pastor Koh,” Khalid said.
He said the group had only come under the police radar late last year but were not investigated for Koh’s abduction then as their previous crimes were related to drugs and firearms.
Khalid refused to divulge further details, stating the case was still under investigation and that Koh’s family had not been filled in on the latest developments.
Liew said the update she sought from the police should also include a full explanation about the announcements they made on April 6 and May 24.
The April 6 announcement she referred to concerned a statement by the IGP that the investigations into the case indicated that Koh’s abduction may have been connected to his attempt to spread Christianity in northern Malaysia.
On May 24, the IGP reportedly said a local suspect had been picked up in a state in the north to facilitate the probe.
Koh was abducted by a group of masked men less than 100 metres from the Police Housing Complex in SS4, Kelana Jaya, here.
Video footage later emerged showing what looked like a well-executed plan involving seven vehicles and at least 12 individuals.
The whole incident took place in under a minute, with all vehicles, including Koh’s car, seen driven away.
“Past meetings that they had invited me to attend on March 6 and March 23 were less about actual updates about the case and more about asking me to not engage with the media and to not attend public vigils and gatherings,” said Liew.
She also urged the police to cooperate with the investigation into the case being conducted by Suhakam and to update the human rights body as well.
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