Ban Cyanide Action Committee (BCAC) chairperson Wong Kin Hoong, who led a 10-year struggle against cyanide gold mining, passed away this afternoon. He was 69.

Facebook page Ban Cyanide in Gold Mining announced that Wong died at the Raub Hospital at 12 noon today.

Wong had been receiving cardiac surgery lately and was sent to the hospital again at around 7am today, BCAC vice-president Shirley Hue Shieh Lee said when Malaysiakini contacted her.

According to Shirley Hue, Wong was about to publish a book titled "Ten Golden Years: The struggles of the Ban Cyanide in Gold Mining movement", which would highlight the decade-long struggles of the anti-cyanide movement in Raub.

Scheduled to be launched on Merdeka Day, the book has completed its editing process and will be printed this week, she added.

Since the announcement of Wong's death, many activists have expressed their condolences on social media; some also posted pictures featuring themselves together with Wong, in remembrance of the late anti-cyanide champion.

Lawsuit launched by RAGM 

In 2012, Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd (RAGM) sued Wong for defamation over a statement he allegedly made during a Himpunan Hijau Raub press conference on Aug 2, 2012.

Besides Wong, RAGM had also launched a defamation suit against Shirley Hue and the organisation’s secretary Hue Fui How over allegedly defamatory statements made through media reports.

In 2014, Wong apologised in open court to RAGM, while Fui How also subsequently issued an apology.

However, unlike Wong and Fui How, Shirley Hue has never issued an apology. Her court case reached a milestone in October 2016, when the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed an appeal by RAGM against a High Court judgment, which favoured Shirley Hue.

The Court of Appeal also ordered RAGM to pay Shirley Hue RM20,000 in costs.

In May 2017, RAGM applied for voluntary liquidation after suffering great losses.

RAGM is also currently appealing against a May 23 High Court decision, which had dismissed its defamation claim against Malaysiakini and three other defendants, all of whom were members of the editorial team at the time.

However, the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya had reserved their judgment for a later date in the case between Raub Australian Gold Mine (RAGM) and Malaysiakini.