In responding to the arrest of the alleged mastermind behind the murder of Bill, the Ba’Kelalan assemblyman said he and his party colleagues will carry on where Bill left off in the fight for NCR.
“He had believed that a solution needed to be found so that no other lives would be lost in the fight for the NCR of the people to be recognised.
“Now, with his death, the native villagers especially feel the loss of their defender acutely,” Baru was quoted as saying by the Borneo Post.
Baru, who is also the state opposition chief, said Bill’s family was still grieving for the late Miri PKR branch secretary, adding that Bill would have turned 43 on Dec 8.
“We too, in PKR miss his presence and involvement in our party activities. Nothing will bring Bill back but we hope that his family and friends will take a little comfort in the fact that the suspects, including the alleged mastermind, will be brought to court to face the charges against them,” Baru told Borneo Post.
Yesterday, Sarawak businessman Stephen Lee Chee Kiang was charged at the Miri Magistrate’s Court with abetment in Bill’s murder.
Lee, had been arrested in Fujian, China, by Chinese authorities on Monday and was deported to Malaysia the next day. Malaysian police flew to China to escort the accused back.
He arrived at the Miri Airport at 11.15am yesterday and was taken straight to court to face charges.
According to the charge sheet, Lee, together with Lie Chang Loon, 39, Chin Wui Chung, 50, and another individual still at large, had abetted in commissioning Mohamad Fitri Pauzi, 29, to murder Bill.
Bill, who is also the political secretary to Miri MP Dr Michael Teoh, was gunned down at a traffic light intersection near E-mart supermarket on Jalan Miri-Bintulu near here at 8.20am on June 21.
The accused then left for Singapore from Miri on June 23, about two days after the murder took place.
Baru also weighed in on the efforts of the police to catch the fugitive “Datuk”, who had fled the country
“We congratulate the state police commissioner Mazlan Mansor and state CID chief Dev Kumar for capturing Lee.
“There should now be no attempt to interfere with the process or to influence the outcome in any way,” Baru told Borneo Post.
According to the Borneo Post, Lee and the other accused would be brought to court on Jan 3 next year. Their trial, under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302, has been fixed to last nine days. The sentence, upon conviction, would be the mandatory death sentence.
The case would be re-mentioned on Dec 30 as the prosecution wants it transferred to the High Court.