Sunday October 14, 2012

Malaysian jailed for two decades in Australia back in the arms of his family

PETALING JAYA: It was an emotional family reunion for Liew Chiew Seng who arrived home after being behind bars for two decades in Australia for the killing of a surgeon.

For his son Andrew Liew, it has been a long wait. The 33-year-old hugged his father the moment the older man stepped into the arrival hall of the KL International Airport (KLIA) early yesterday morning.

Andrew, who was there to take his father home, said he had not seen him for two years.

“I'm very excited that he will be part of our family once again.

“He has served his sentence and our family wants to put the past behind us and move on,” he told reporters.

Andrew said his family had faced tough times making ends meet for the past 21 years, adding that his father had shown remorse for what he had done.

“We are glad that he is home and he will be able to attend my younger sister's wedding next week,” he said.

Liew, 69, was jailed over the fatal 1991 shooting of Dr Victor Chang during an extortion attempt.

Immigration director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad confirmed that Liew touched down at 3.30am.

“Following his arrival at KLIA, we brought him in for an interview, which is part of the deportation process,” he said yesterday.

He said, after the interview, Liew was handed over to a travel control officer from Bukit Aman, who had released him.

Liew was earlier released from Sydney's Long Bay Correctional Centre on Friday after serving 21 years of his 26-year sentence.

It was reported that the New South Wales state parole board agreed last month to free Liew, who has advanced Parkinson's disease, after his lawyers argued that he would soon be unfit to travel and unable to be deported back to Malaysia.

His release came after state Attorney-General Greg Smith said it would drop its appeal against Liew's release.

Liew was one of two men convicted in the murder.

The man who provided the gun, Phillip Choon Tee Lim, was also jailed over the killing and was paroled and deported to Malaysia in 2010 after serving 18 years in prison.

Dr Chang earned an international reputation for his pioneering work on heart transplant methods and was gunned down near his Sydney home.

News

Sunday October 14, 2012

Malaysian jailed for two decades in Australia back in the arms of his family