Car Salesman Richard Cleared Of Triple Murder
By Abd Rahim Mohd Taib

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei High Court yesterday acquitted triple-murder accused Richard Chia Kok Hiong of all charges involving the death of a couple and their three-yearold daughter in 2004 due to the police's poor handling of evidence.

It took Justice Dato Paduka Steven Chong two hours to read his ruling before a packed gallery and witnessed by Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Mohamed Saied. "The prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had committed the, offences he was alleged to have committed. The accused is therefore acquitted and discharged of all charges," the judge ruled.

Richard, a long-time car salesman with Boustead Marketing was arrested on February 5, 2005 for the murders of technician Maul Jambu, his wife Seniwati Untong and their theree-yearold daughter Neena Asmira between 6:22 pm on December 15, 2004 and 2:00 am on December 16, 2004 at a government housing area in Kampung Serusop. Richard expressed happiness over the judge's ruling.

"I am very happy to reunite with my family after I had suffered one year, 9 months and 13 days exactly," he said.

In the ruling, the court among others stated it doubts on the DNA evidence of stains - which was said to have belonged to Seniwati - collected by police investigators from a green Nissan Sunny belonging to Richard's wife.

Police had presented evidence that they conducted a search of the Nissan Sunny in the presence of Richard stating that they were looking for the murder weapon but had only searched the trunk of the car. The court also noted that if the police were looking for a murder weapon, it would be most strange that they had only searched the car's trunk. It also stated that there was a real possibility the police officers contaminated the crime scene when they were searching for evidence.

DPP Yusree and DPP Pg Nina Jasmine prosecuted while Yusof Halim and Siva Sankaran were counsels for the defendant.

The court expressed its dissatisfaction over the way evidence was collected from the crime scene and preserved by the police. The court stated that DNA results would not have much weight as evidence if there were doubts on the manner of how these were collected and preserved. The court also noted from the evidence given by the pathologist that there were about 30 police officers going in and out of the crime scene when the victims' bodies were discovered on December 17 and' that the area was not properly cordoned off.

The judge in his ruling also stressed that no protective clothings were worn by the investigators in the crime scene to protect the area from being contaminated.

Testimonies also showed that the police had failed to observe the strict protocols' in handling evidence for DNA testings. The court then urged the police that these mistakes should not be repeated in future investigations. It also noted that the prosecution had failed to show Richard's motives.  -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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