exclusive On Jan 13, at about 11pm, Seow Nan Keong, 27, a car accessory shop worker walked out from a pub in Taman Thivy Jaya, Seremban to receive a call on his handphone. It turned out to be the last call he would ever receive.

After he ended the call, he saw his brother's girlfriend standing outside for some fresh air. It was a Saturday night and the Seow brothers and their friends were out celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year.

The girl later noticed a middle-aged man and another man, presumably his friend, came out of the pub. While one went to his car across the road, the middle-aged man stepped into his car which was parked just outside the pub.

"The man was wobbling. It looked like he was very 'high', and I suspect that he might be drunk," the girl told malaysiakini in an interview in Seremban.

She reported that the boss of the pub came out and asked the middle-aged man whether he wanted to reverse his car. Then he asked Seow to move his car, which was parked nearby.

"He didn't tell me that he wanted me to reverse the car, he didn't even honk," the girl heard Seow telling the boss.

The man's car was parked in between Seow's and her own car.

"There is ample space for the man to reverse his car," said the girl.

Obscenities hurled

Nevertheless, Seow apologised to the man and walked towards his car. But the middle-aged man came out from the car, shouting obscenities at Seow, she said.

Seow stopped and turned to him and said, "I've said sorry just now. If you want to reverse the car, it is fine. What else do you want me to do?"

The man slammed the door and walked towards Seow, pushing him a few steps backward.

"We fight out there," yelled the man. Seow followed the man.

"The man walked to the middle of the road, and pointed a pistol at Seow, and before Seow could run away, the man opened fire.

"Seow put his hand on his neck and stood for a while before he fell," the girl recalled.

"The man ran to his friend who had not left yet, and smiled to his friend," said the girl. She added that she was then trembling with shock.

She saw the man made a call on his mobile phone.

She then rushed into the pub for Seow's brother, Seow Woon Huat, 36, to help his brother.

Pistol in hand

"The suspect was still holding his pistol in hand when I picked up my brother," Woon Huat related to malaysiakini . The elder Seow then sent his brother to Seremban General Hospital.

Many of those who were in front of the pub had witnessed the incident.

"Several of the people standing there said there was no need to open fire over a small issue," said Woon Huat recalled.

Later, the girl witness saw a few plainclothes policemen arrived, and they shook hands with the suspect.

" Siapa sini tengok? (Who saw this?)" a police asked for witnesses.

The girl said she lifted her hand and gave her oral report to the police. She said she wrote down the plate number of the suspect's car before she left for the hospital.

According to The Sun 's report on Jan 15, Seremban OCPD Asst Commissioner Mak Chee Onn confirmed that the police found the shell of a bullet and a knife at the murder scene.

But the girl insisted that she had not seen any knife that night.

"The police did not ask about the knife at all on the spot. It was only after a few hours later in the police station that they asked me about the knife," she said.

Woon Huat said the victim never brought a knife with him, and he seldom went to the pub.

"We are suspicious of the existence of the knife and where it came from," he added.

According to Woon Huat, his girlfriend who witnessed the shooting had been asked by the police to make eight reports in all.

The witness noted that she had told the police that the suspect seemed drunk, but a copy of the police report acquired by malaysiakini found that there was no mention about the suspect's alleged drunkenness.

Out on RM100,000 bail

The adopted parents of the victim, Seow Chee Kong, 73, and Yap Siew Lan, 73, were visibly distressed as the witness related the story to malaysiakini . The victim, a second son, was very close to his siblings and together they lived in an extended family.

Chee Kong's brother, Seow Eng Kong, 63, who is the biological father of the victim, said that the victim was the main provider for the Seow family.

"Every month he earns about RM2,000 to RM3,000 for the family, his boss always sent him overseas on business," recalled Eng Kong, adding that the victim had just come back from New Zealand before his death.

The suspect, a prominent businessman and son of a tycoon who is a datuk (a royalty-bestowed title), was granted police bail of RM100,000 under two sureties at the magistrate court and released on Jan 27. His bail was further extended on Feb 12 for another seven days.

"We know that the case under Section 302 is not bailable. If the police do not charge him, we are going to (lobby the Attorney-General's Chamber) to charge him," said Eng Kong.

He added that they are still waiting for the results of the police investigation of the case.

Recently, there were rumours saying that the victim's family had received RM200,000 from the suspect and his family as a compensation.

"We have never met the family of the suspect and did not receive a single sen from them. It's all rumours," said Chee Kong.

"We want the culprit to be jailed, we don't want any money," stressed the victim's brother Woon Huat.

Law minister's assurance

"The public is very angry with the police now, we hope that ( de facto Law Minister) Dr Rais Yatim will do something for justice," said Eng Kong.

On Feb 14, New Straits Times quoted the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Rais as saying that he would personally look into the case of the murder suspect being released on bail.

A murder case is non-bailable, he added, saying that he could not understand why the suspect, a 42-year-old businessman, who was being investigated by the police under section 302 of the Penal Code, was freed.

"I will take up this case with the (AG) chambers personally. There seems to be a special treatment for the suspect and the question is why," said Rais.

"We will check who (from the chambers) gave the directive for the suspect to be freed on bail and when the directive was issued. I will get to the bottom of things."

The National Council of Justices also lauded Rais' promise to look into this matter. The movement's secretary-general M Ramalingam said it was important to uphold the rule of law.

"Our government is not founded upon the wielding of the gun and therefore citizens possessing firearms licences do not have the inherent right of killing people," he was reported as saying.

The suspect's bail will expire on Monday.