By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, May 19: The widow of a murdered bank branch manager received her ultimate freedom today after the Federal Court unanimously affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal to discharge and acquit her of the murder charge.
The Federal Court led by Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya Tan Sri Dato Sri Azahar Mohamed today found that the Court of Appeal was right in reversing the decision of the High Court and agreed the conviction against the respondent, Ling Hang Tsyr was not safe to convict and hang her based on circumstantial evidence and there are also gaps between the circumstantial evidence.
The Federal Court found that the prosecution could not prove there was no common intention and motive for Ling to kill the deceased as the Investigating Officer had testified that Ling received nothing from the deceased and there was also no evidence to prove conspiracy and no evidence for abetting the murderer where the murderer had testified that he did not know Ling and had never communicated with her, and therefore the charge of abetting and common intention could not be established.
Therefore, the Federal Court today dismissed the appeal by the prosecution and affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal.
On October 27, 2017, the Sibu High Court had convicted Ling on the charge of murdering her husband, Wong Jing Kui, under Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting and Section 302 of Penal Code for murder and read together Section 34 of the Penal Code which carries a death sentence, upon conviction.
On October 8, 2019, a three-person Court of Appeal panel discharged and acquitted Ling of the charge framed.
Ling and Tiong King Guan were charged with abetting Ling Hoe Ing to kill Wong, a HSBC branch manager at his Jalan Ulu Sungai Merah home at 1.30am on June 14, 2012.
Tiong is still at large while Hoe Ing is serving a 16-year jail sentence after he pleaded guilty on October 1, 2013 to an alternative charge of culpable homicide in Wong’s death.
Counsels Lim Heng Choo, Roger Chin and Analissa Lim acted for the respondent. — DayakDaily
