The man’s daughter, Stella Ho, said her father Ho Jee Chew, 58, had been riding his motorcycle to work at a coffee shop on Penang Road on the night of May 16.
She said he was rammed into by several suspects who were fleeing the scene in their car after committing a robbery.
“As they were trying to escape, they hit my father. He was in a coma for a week,” she said, adding that he died four days ago without waking up.
“Before that, we had just celebrated his birthday. And then this incident happened,” she said in a press conference yesterday with Bukit Gelugor MP and lawyer Ramkarpal Singh.
“My siblings and I just want justice for our beloved father, and we hope the police can do their job and arrest the suspects.”
Ever since the incident, Stella has been conducting her own investigations, checking CCTV cameras on Penang Road and Burma Road to determine the suspects’ trail, and whether the vehicle licence plate number can be ascertained and the suspects identified.
However, Ramkarpal said there were no leads at the moment as the suspects had been speeding.
“But that is not the point. The point is, it is not her job to do so. It is the job of the police. You can see from (this) photograph, there is a still of the suspect taken from the CCTV at the nearby convenience outlet.
“This is the person who, after stealing cigarettes at the outlet, went into the car outside, sped off, and met with an accident, which led to the death of my client’s father.
“Police are saying they cannot ascertain the number plate of the car. I find that unfortunate. If so, you have clear evidence of what the person looks like from the CCTV. This is the suspect,” he said.
Ramkarpal questioned the police inaction in arresting or determining the identities of the person and his accomplice who had been waiting in the car.
“I have spoken to the investigating officer who said he could not do anything because the CCTV cameras do not disclose the number plate of the car.
“With the greatest respect, we cannot accept such a simplistic approach. The police must do more, especially when they can see the face of the suspect in the CCTV camera.
“If my client can get better leads than the police, it means the police are not doing their jobs.”
Ramkarpal said he would follow up on the case with a personal letter to the northeast district police chief, asking him to urgently look into the case to identify the suspects and charge them with suspected robbery and causing the death of his client’s father.
“He was an innocent man, going about his business. I understand he was going to work at 4am at a coffee shop near Chowrasta market.
“The disappointment here is the failure of the police to probe the case properly. If we have a competent force, we can resolve such issues easily. They have the resources to investigate.
“I hope the district police chief will take note of this very important matter and take the necessary steps to investigate and detain the suspects with a view to charging them. A life has unfortunately been lost, which ought not to have been the case,” he sad.