Land activist’s killer sentenced to death but his family want to know the motive
Fitri shouts profanity at the reporters who are taking his photos, as he is being brought to a police vehicle after the delivery of the guilty verdict at the High Court in Miri.
MIRI: It was a mixed-feeling moment for the family of slain activist, Bill Kayong, when the High Court yesterday found Mohamad Fitri Pauzi guilty of the murder committed here two years ago and sentenced him to death by hanging.
Davy Kayong
Bill’s younger brother Davy Kayong said despite being somewhat relieved after hearing the verdict, his family felt no peace knowing that the three other key suspects of the case had been discharged and acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
“We hope there would be more efforts to convict the other three.”
Davy said the guilty verdict provided neither answer nor closure to the tragedy.
“For us, there’s no reason for him (Fitri) to kill my brother, because my brother did not know the accused, and my brother was also not an influential person. We just wanted to know why he (Fitri) killed him – the exact cause,” Davy told The Borneo Post here.
High Court Judge Ravintharan N Paramaguru found Fitri, 31, guilty of shooting Bill to death at a traffic intersection near the Emart Supermarket Tudan here on June 21, 2016.
On June 6 last year businessman Datuk Stephen Lee Chee Kiang, who was then charged with abetting the killing of Bill, was discharged and acquitted together with two other suspects – Lie Chang Loon, 38, and Chin Wui Chung, 51 — all because the evidence to link the three with the crime was insufficient.
Bill – whose Muslim name was Mohd Hasbie Abdullah – was the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Miri branch secretary.
Davy said his family wish to witness first-hand the sentencing being carried out.
“We will apply for a permit to see directly the execution of this killer – if allowed.”