KUCHING: The Attorney-General's Chambers will file an appeal against the acquittal of a businessman and two others charged with murdering Miri PKR branch secretary and social activist Bill Kayong.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali confirmed the matter today but declined to elaborate.
"I can confirm that we are appealing against the acquittal decision," he told the New Straits Times via a WhatsApp message.
The Miri High Court yesterday acquitted and discharged corporate figure Datuk Stephen Lee Chee Kiang and two others after the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the trio.
The other two were Lee's personal assistant Chin Wui Ching, 51, and pub owner Lie Chang Loon, 38.
High Court Judge Ravinthran N Paramaguru ruled that the prosecution did not tender any evidence linking the involvement of the three to the murder of Kayong, also known as Mohd Hasbie Abdullah.
Car repossessor, Mohamad Fitri Pauzi, who was charged with murdering Kayong, was ordered to enter his defence.
The decision over the trio's acquittal triggered anger among social activists in the state, questioning the capabilities of the prosecution team in handling high-profile murder cases.
Kayong was shot dead at a traffic light intersection near E-mart supermarket on Jalan Miri-Bintulu in Miri at 8.20am on June 21 last year.