KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The High Court has absolved the husband of property agent, Datin Renyce Wong, from involvement in her murder, but held that his failure to testify in the trial of the seven accused helped all of them to go scot free.
Judge Justice Azman Abdullah, who acquitted and discharged the seven over the gruesome murder in Taman Overseas Union Garden (OUG) last year, held that the chain of evidence in the case had been broken because the husband, Datuk Wong Chun Keen, did not turn up to give evidence.
This resulted in a weak case against the seven, said the judge, who made the decision at the end of the prosecution's case on Friday (Nov 17).
Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali said his office would appeal against the decision "as soon as possible".
The seven - M. Pal Ganapathy, 27, S. Vijendran, 30, K. Sri Kanapathy, 35, driver Chen Yuen Ming, 42, businessmen Chin Kok Leong, 45, K. Sattiyarao, 30, and restaurant owner Liew Lai Chen (the lone woman in the trial), 48, - walked away without their defence being called after the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case.
Wong, a mother of five, was gunned down in broad daylight in Taman OUG, Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur while driving her children and maid to lunch at 2.30pm on July 6, 2016.
The 32-year-old's daughter, who was in the front passenger seat, was also hit when gunmen fired five bullets at her Toyota Vellfire, one piercing the then eight-year-old's intestines in nine places.
Justice Azman said the failure of the husband to turn up in court to testify raised two possibilities, adding: "First, he has knowledge of the murder and is afraid to come forward. Secondly, he could be involved."
The judge, however, pointed out there was the testimony from the final witness, Wong's younger sibling, who stated that the victim once mentioned to her "to pass all the documents to the husband should anything happen to her".
This testimony, he said, absolved the husband's involvement in the murder but his non-appearance broke the chain of evidence.
"What are the roles played by the accused persons until it caused the victim's death in this murder?" he said.
Justice Azman held that there was no common intention between Ganapathy and Vijendran, both unemployed, as required under Section 34 of the Penal Code.
"From the CCTV footage, the licence plate of a motorcycle ridden by two men could not be distinguished as well as their looks as they wore full-face helmets," he said.
Ganapathy and Vijendran were charged with Wong's murder, while the rest were charged with abetment of the alleged crime.
According to the charge sheet, the offence was allegedly committed between 2pm and 2.30pm at Jalan Hujan Emas 4, Overseas Union Garden off Old Klang Road here.
