Death
On 4 July 1991, Chang was shot twice in the head in a failed extortion attempt. His body was found slumped in the gutter next to his car in Mosman. Two Malaysian men, Chew Seng (Ah Sung) Liew and Choon Tee (Phillip) Lim, ran their car into Chang's vehicle, forcing him to pull over. After Chang refused to give them money and got into an argument with them, Liew fired the fatal shots. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years. Lim received a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 24 years. Liew pleaded guilty and Lim pleaded not guilty, claiming he did not know Liew had a gun. Another man, Stanley Ng, abandoned an extortion plan a day before the murder. He had unsuccessfully tried detaining Chang twice to force him to give A$3 million. Ng was granted immunity for his evidence. The prosecution alleged the plan had been to abduct Chang, tie him up with his family at his home in Clontarf, and threaten to hang them to coerce Chang into withdrawing money from the bank. In his ruling, Supreme Court Judge John Slattery stated, "It was an absurd, improbable plan, always doomed to failure".
On 26 October 2009, Lim was awarded parole. Following a public outcry and objection by the New South Wales Corrective Services Minister, John Robertson, his release was put on hold, pending another parole hearing. In the New South Wales Supreme Court, that decision was quashed due to the Parole Authority making a procedural error. Lim was freed from Parramatta Correctional Centre on 1 March 2010 into the custody of immigration officers. He was to be deported back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 2 March, but the flight was cancelled for technical reasons. He was flown out of Australia on 3 March.
After serving 21 years in prison, Chiew Seng Liew was granted parole and was deported to Malaysia on October 13th 2012. During Liew's parole hearing, he made a broad apology for the crime he committed and believed that his long term in prison had taken effect. There was a small outcry from NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith however this was retracted and Liew was released from prison on 12 October, 2012.
Read more about this topic: Victor Chang
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“You mustn’t be afraid of death. When this ship sailed, death sailed on her.”
—Charles Larkworthy. Denison Clift. Anton Lorenzen (Bela Lugosi)
“Oh Death he is a little man,
And he goes from do’ to do’ ...”
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Accordingly, death is a harbor of peace for the just, but is believed a shipwreck for the wicked.”
—Ambrose (c. 333–397)