Bill Kayong’s family calls for AG to re-open murder probe
The family’s lawyers contend that all the evidence the prosecution possessed was never produced during the trial in the Miri High Court which led to the acquittal of three of the four suspects.
Bill’s younger brother, Davy, said a grave injustice had been done when the main suspects in the murder were freed by the court.
He said those freed were now free to walk the streets of Miri, in northern Sarawak, while Bill’s family lived in fear and financial hardship.
“We feel like we’ve lost a wing, and have to make do with whatever little we have.
“We are also still traumatised by what had happened to Bill, on top of being constantly in fear knowing the main culprit is out.
“In Miri everyone knows the main culprit has a big gangster organisation. We feel like we are being followed and watched wherever we go.”
Davy was speaking to reporters outside the building of the Attorney-General’s Chambers here this afternoon.
He, along with Bill’s widow Hasykin Hatta, were there to submit a memorandum addressed to Apandi, giving the reasons why they believed the prosecution team failed to ensure justice was delivered.The family’s legal team from NGO Lawyer Kamek For Change also requested to have a meeting with Apandi to lay out all the evidence they had against the suspects.
Also present today were PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Bill’s two teenage children.
In the memorandum sighted by FMT, the family’s lawyers contended that all the evidence the prosecution possessed was never produced during the trial in the Miri High Court.
They said this was the main reason the court decided to acquit three of the four suspects in the case.
“We stated just how horrible the prosecution was conducted. Therefore, we appeal to the Attorney-General to re-open the case and ensure that justice is delivered,” said lawyer Murni Hidayah.
She was a representative of Lawyer Kamek For Change, which is handling the case pro-bono.
The Miri High Court in June acquitted three of the four suspects charged with Bill’s murder. One of the three was a Sarawak businessman with a “Datuk” title, who was said to have masterminded the murder of the social activist.
While Stephen Lee Chee Kiang, Lie Chang Loon and Chin Wui Chung were all discharged and acquitted without having their defence called, Mohamad Fitri Pauz, the man accused of pulling the trigger in the mafia-style murder, was ordered to enter his defence.
In acquitting the trio, High Court Judge P Ravinthran ruled that the prosecution had failed to furnish evidence linking them to the murder.
Bill, 43, whose Muslim name was Mohd Hasbie Abdullah, was gunned down while seated in his Toyota Hilux vehicle about 8.30am on June 21 at a traffic light intersection at Lutong near E-Mart supermarket in Jalan Miri-Bintulu.
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The killing of the Miri PKR leader was believed to be linked to his work as an advocate of social issues, especially on indigenous rights and land issues.