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Postcard from Zaharah: A betrayal of trust

When accounts of the gruesome murder of Malaysian pensioner, Mee Kuen Chong, 67, were given during the trial and conviction of her murderer,  a sense of horror and unease swept all over me. 

 Mee Kuen, who lived alone not too far away from me, was brutally murdered in her own house by someone she trusted and had claimed to be her friend. 

The elderly woman was registered as "vulnerable" and had mental health issues. 

The jury in the trial of 38-year-old osteopath Jemma Mitchell were left in no doubt about how the killing of the defenceless woman was carried out, and how meticulously she had planned the disposal of the body, which was found headless in a forest some 322km away from where the crime took place in London. 

The story about the discovery of the body in the forest burst onto our screens on June 26 last year. 

The arrest of Mitchell was reported a few days later and it was not until the trial in the last few weeks that we learnt of the circumstances that led to the calculated murder.  And the motive, alas, was money.

 The feeling of unease that I felt reading about Mee Kuen's fate was not just because she was a fellow Malaysian. 

It was more because I wondered how many in the community that we claim to know and care about are vulnerable and susceptible to manipulative people who profess to be "friends".

How many of us know or knew of the defenceless and vulnerable elderly members of our community until it is too late to realise what they were going through?  

Mee Kuen wasn't really without friends.  She had neighbours and lodgers that she had been in contact with, who knew about her state of mind. 

She believed she had a YouTube relationship with the then Prince Charles and had even written letters to him. 

Because of that, she was referred by the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre at Buckingham Palace to the Brent community mental health team. 

Mee Kuen had also written letters to former prime minister Boris Johnson about her political views.

Mee Kuen, according to evidence given in court,  had communicated to her neighbour and lodger about her friendship with Mitchell, whom she befriended in a church they regularly attended together.  

She said Mitchell, who was also a therapist, was helping to heal her.   

But how many knew about the negotiations between Mee Kuen and Mitchell regarding the £200,000 that the latter had asked the victim for the repair of  her house? 

Apparently, Mee Kuen had agreed to the sum, but later advised Mitchell to sell her dilapidated house instead. 

She even said she didn't want to discuss money or the house any more, which must have triggered Mitchell's anger, enough for her to hatch her plans.

 On the day of the murder, closed-circuit television camera footage showed her with a big blue suitcase walking to Mee Kuen's house and leaving four hours later with the suitcase visibly heavier — and a smaller suitcase, which was later discovered to have documents from Mee Kuen's house.

The documents were later used to fake a will, leaving her with a  £700,000 inheritance. 

All the evidence was found in Mitchell's house, which helped convict her of the cold-blooded murder of someone who trusted her.

In light of what had happened, I reflected on cases in our very own community here — where the elderly and vulnerable were taken advantage of,  of bank statements showing money being siphoned off and automated teller machine cards used without their knowledge by people they trusted.

I even heard of a case of a marriage of convenience, where the much younger spouse was using his vulnerable partner's bank account to support him.

 A 73-year-old Malaysian woman spent three days at Heathrow airport waiting for her "honey", whom she had given a hefty sum of money in return for a new and exciting life.

A concerned fellow Malaysian informed the Malaysian High Commission in London about the case and the grandmother was then taken to a safe place.

Who knows how much money she would have transferred in return for the "promised" love?

Sure, all these cases didn't lead to anything tragic, thankfully. 

But it is the betrayal of trust that is as much a crime.

Usually, these cases were shrouded in secrecy, making it difficult for others to help. 

Any probing would be deemed as interfering. Any offer of help would be treated suspiciously.

Not many victims want to talk about it and prefer that their ordeal remain their secret. 

Maybe some of them have something to hide, too, and would prefer that fewer people know about it, especially relatives back home.

It is sad that Mee Kuen, also known as Deborah, met a cruel fate at the hands of someone she befriended and trusted.  Mitchell had pleaded not guilty and is still in denial.  

A lot remains unanswered as Mitchell did not give any evidence. 

The body dissection expert-turned-osteopath maintains her innocence in spite of evidence found in her home and statements given by the taxi driver who helped carry the heavy suitcase, and the mechanic who repaired her car used to transport the bag.

The mechanic even described the smell coming from the boot of the car as odd. 

On Friday, Mitchell was sentenced to life imprisonment with 34 years as the minimum sentence. 

The judge had described the crime as "a murder done for gain".

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