Utusan Malaysia Plays Racist In Sosilawati Murdered

Kuching
Saturday, 18th September 2010

From Harakahdaily

There seems to be no end to politicising any issue in Malaysia. In the case of the savage murder of businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya and three others, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia continues this trend by linking politics to the case which shocked the nation.

The Perkasa and UMNO mouthpiece is said to have carried a statement by a defecting Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy youth chief Mohd Zahid Md Arip who questioned what he termed as DAP’s "silence and hypocrisy" over Sosilawati’s murder, a now-familiar charge among pro-UMNO bloggers.

“Is the silence related to claim that the main suspect (in the murder case) is a lifelong member of the party?

"If the claim is true, it clearly shows that DAP is a hypocrite party that only fights for certain race,” he was quoted as questioning.

His suggestion was however in stark contrast to what deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department T. Murugiah’s had claimed earlier, that the main murder suspect had expressed his intention to join MIC.

Murugiah had also claimed that he met the suspect during a Hari Raya community programme in Bukit Cheeding, three days before he was arrested.

DAP to sue

DAP secretary-general is clearly not amused by Utusan's latest attack on it.

“Murugiah said he wanted to join MIC, yet Utusan spins to say he is a DAP life member. Utusan has politicised the issue," twitted Lim Guan Eng, adding that the party would be taking the paper to court for libel.

Describing the paper's reporting as evil and malicious, Lim said it should just be renamed to Utusan Shin Bet and Mossad, referring to the notorious Israeli secret service agencies.

In another posting, Lim said the DAP did not attempt to exploit Murugiah's revelation that the suspect had wanted to join MIC.

Coupled with allegations on the internet mostly by pro-UMNO bloggers, Utusan's reporting on the murder case has thrived on sensationalism, and recently bordered on racism due to the different races involved in the high-profile case.

Following this, the police chief has been forced to issue a statement, telling the public that the case had nothing to do race.

The racial polemics surrounding the case also prompted Selangor's Seri Setia assemblyman to condemn "irresponsible journalism" by the media involved, especially those known as 'mainstream'.

“What kind of humans are us? [sic]” twitted Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. “The scary thing is this was not spun by unknown blogs and stupid tabloids, but the mainstream media."

Taken from  Harakahdaily

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Sosilawati Murderers Will be Charged Eventually

Kuching
Saturday,18th September 2010

Family members and the public will have to wait for at least a fortnight before eight suspects detained in connection with the brutal murder of millionaire businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya and three others are charged in the court.

Sources close to the investigation and prosecution teams revealed that thus far only the mystery of the murder victims' disapperance has been answered.

Now it's all about gathering evidence, drafting the charges and successfully prosecuting the case.

"The most difficult part is ensuring justice is meted out fairly, not only to the victims' families but also to the suspects arrested in connection with the case," a source said.

The prosecution, he said, had narrowed down eight suspects to two groups, with the first group likely to be charged under Section 302 and 304 (a) or 304 (b) of the Penanl Code for murder and manslaughter.

A 41-year-old lawyer and his younger brother have been identified as the main suspects.

Two others are likely to face charges under Section 302 which carries the mandatory death sentence, while the rest might face lesser charges.

"More than one person were directly involved in the murders and we need to be very careful and thorough in drafting the charges so that no one walks free at the end of the prosecution's case.

"We should akso respect the fundamental rights of an individual as provided for in our justice system, where a suspect is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

"We are not going give in to any sort of public pressure," said a police officer close to the investigation team.

On Sept 12, Bukit Aman CID director Mohd Bakri Zinin confirmed that four suspects, including a woman, aged between 19 and 54, had confessed to the killing of Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shansudin, 44, a CIMB branch officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32.

Air-tight case

Asked why the delay in charging the suspects, a source close to the prosecution said chemistry and DNA reports are very critical in completing the investigation papers.

"What we have thus far is confessions from the suspects. We need scientific evidence and the law is very clear on this where cautioned statetments alone are not enough to get a conviction," the officer added.

He said that in the past, in several high-profile cases, suspects walked free merely on technical grounds.

"This case is an extraordinary one where they had killed four people at one go and also confessed to killing several others.

"We need to probe further to build an air-tight case. We can't do that without forensic evidence, which is a key element of our justice system," added the officer.

He said it would take at least another a week before police could obtain all the vital information from the relevant departments.

Meanwhile, the men currently detained at the Dang Wangi district police station are expected to be handed over to the Kuala Langat (Banting) district police where several missing persons' reports have been lodged against the suspects.

In a related development, police obtained a week's extension of the remand order to facilitate their investigations against the prime suspect and four others.

Police are expected to obtain a similar order against three other suspects tomorrow.

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