KUCHING: The police have requested assistance from Interpol Malaysia to apprehend Dato Stephen Lee Chee Kiang, one of the prime key suspects in the murder of social activist Bill Kayong in a drive-by shooting, who was believed to have fled to Australia.
“Yes, we have requested assistance from Interpol Malaysia. We are awaiting feedback on our request,” state CID chief Dev Kumar told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Earlier, The Borneo Post received a statement from a spokesperson of the Australian Attorney-General’s Department following the former’s enquiry whether request has been received from the Malaysian police.
“As a matter of longstanding practice, the Australian Government does not comment publicly on extradition matters, including whether it has received an extradition request, until the person is arrested or brought before a court pursuant to a request,” said the statement from AG Department
Australia which was forwarded by The Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Bill Kayong was killed in a drive-by shooting at a traffic light intersection near E-Mart in Permyjaya, Miri on June 21.
The 43-year-old was a vociferous advocate of social issues and had campaigned on NCR land issues in the last state election.
The on-going investigation has, so far, turned up two men who were produced and charged in the Miri Magistrate’s Court on July 15.
MohamadFitriPauzi, 29, was charged with murder (by shooting Bill) under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
The other suspect, Lie Chang Loon, also 29, was charged with abetment, an offence punishable under Section 109 read together with Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Also charged (in absentia) for abetting MohamadFitri in the commission of the crime were Lee Chee Kiang, also known as Dato Stephen Lee, and two others still at large.
The Borneo Post research has shown that The Australian Government processes all incoming and outgoing extradition requests in accordance with the Extradition Act 1988 and can only accept extradition requests from countries that have been declared as an extradition country in regulations. Malaysia is one of the countries which Australia has a bilateral extradition treaty with.
The Extradition Act 1988 Section 24 Subsection 2 reads: The Attorney-General shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, having regard to the circumstances, after a person becomes an eligible person, determine whether the person is to be surrendered in relation to a qualifying extradition offence or qualifying extradition offences.
Subsection 3 (b) states where the offence is punishable by a penalty of death, one of the followings is applicable:
The person will not be tried for the offence, or if the person is tried for the offence, the death penalty will not be imposed on the person, and if the death penalty is imposed on the person, it will not be carried out.
The extradition country concerned is to give a speciality assurance of the three conditions above.
Meanwhile, Mark Parnell, the parliamentary leader of SA Greens said told Borneo Post (my suggestion, to give BP prominence) his party’s former leader Senator Bob Brown has written directly to the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop on the status of the extradition request from Malaysia.