A man who shot dead one of Australia’s top heart surgeons was granted parole today after serving 21 years in jail and will be deported to Malaysia on his release.

Chiew Seng Liew, 69, was one of two men jailed over the fatal shooting in 1991 of renowned doctor Victor Chang during a failed extortion attempt.

His co-offender Phillip Lim Choon Tee, who provided the gun, was released in 2010 and the ailing Liew, who pulled the trigger, will be set free in coming weeks, the New South Wales State Parole Authority ruled.

Liew has advanced Parkinson’s disease and his lawyer reportedly told the court that his client would likely be unfit to be travel, and hence unable to be deported, if not released urgently.

“Having regard to the principle that the public’s interest is of primary importance, the authority has decided that the release of the inmate is appropriate,” said Parole Authority chairperson, Judge Ian Pike.

Chiew was originally sentenced to 26 years. The Sydney Morning Herald said his wife and children had stood by him and would support him when he returns to Malaysia.

Chang, who earned an international reputation for his pioneering work on heart transplant methods, was gunned down on a pavement near his Sydney home as he made his way to work, in a killing that shocked the nation.

- AFP