KUCHING, March 3 — The High Court here today fixed April 6 this year for the remention of the Eric Chang Wei Jie murder case pending the submission of the forensic report.
Chang’s caregiver Wendy Chai Xue Xhen, 36, and her husband Ling Kok Liang, 51, were supposed to have been charged in the Kuching High Court today under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Code.
However, Judge Azhahari Kamal Ramli fixed April 6, 2023, for remention following an application by deputy public prosecutor Kong Siew Chuo, who stated that the forensic report is still pending despite the case being transferred to the High Court today.
According to Kong, the forensic report is not ready although the two accused were first charged for Chang’s murder in the Magistrates’ Court on March 31, 2022.
Azhahari ordered for the two accused to be further remanded at Puncak Borneo Prison after fixing the new date for court mention.
The judge then urged the prosecution to speed up the process of submitting the forensic report as the two accused have been remanded since March 16, 2022 and this situation is unfair to them.
He added the court will appoint assigned lawyers for their trial after Chai and Ling requested to engage with legal counsel.
Chai and Ling are alleged to have murdered Eric between around 5pm on March 4 and around 9.15am on March 7, 2022 at a house in Taman Riverview, Jalan Daya, Bintawa.
Chang was reported missing by his mother on March 7 after she failed to find him since 9am that day.
The search operation for Chang at Muara Tebas here, which started on March 13, was called off on March 19. — Borneo Post