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PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): The Federal Court has upheld the conviction and death sentence of a former tow truck driver for the murder of the founder of the Arab-Malaysia Bank (AmBank), Hussain Ahmad Najadi, in 2013.
A three-member bench led by the chairman of the Court of Appeals, Judge Rohana Yusuf, also upheld Koong Swee Kwan’s 18-year prison sentence for attempting to assassinate Najadi’s wife, Cheong Mei Kuen.
The court, which also consisted of Federal Court judges, Justices Abdul Rahman Sebli and Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, dismissed Koong’s final appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Judge Rohana said the evidence against Koong was overwhelming.
Koong’s attorney, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, said his client’s last resort is to ask the Board of Pardons for clemency.
On appeal, he had alleged that his client’s defense was not evaluated fairly and equitably by the trial judge as required by law.
Koong, 52, known as Sei Ngan Chai (with glasses) was sentenced to death on October 27, 2017 for killing Najadi, 75, after a retrial of his case. He was also sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempting to assassinate Cheong.
The man was charged with committing the crimes in the parking lot of the Kuan Yin Temple in Lorong Ceylon between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on July 29, 2013.
On September 5, 2014, Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge, Judge Mohd Azman Husin, sentenced Koong to death for the murder of Najadi and 18 years in prison for the assassination attempt.
However, on December 14, 2016, the five-man Federal Court tribunal overturned his conviction and ordered that the case be re-tried in Superior Court after ruling that Judge Mohd Azman could have been harmed by hearing the appeal of a taxi driver. , Chew Siang Chee, who is facing charges of possession of a pistol and bullets. Chew is said to have chased Koong away after the shooting.
Chew was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison on two counts by the Sessions Court for possession of a pistol and live bullets. However, he was acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2015.
Then-Judicial Commissioner Ab Karim Ab Rahman (now a High Court Judge) heard the retrial of Koong’s case.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi argued that the conviction against Koong is secure as there was overwhelming evidence to support it.
He said that the Superior Court judge had followed section 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when he decided that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. – Bernama
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