Parole for Dr Chang's killer delayed

6 Jul 2012, 6:57 pm   -   Source: AAP
Chiew Seng Liew was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in prison for firing the two shots that killed Dr Victor Chang (pictured) in a failed extortion attempt in 1991.

Chiew Seng Liew was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in prison for firing the two shots that killed Dr Victor Chang (pictured) in a failed extortion attempt in 1991.

The man who fired the shot that killed heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang won't know until September if he's being released on parole.

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NSW parole authorities have put off for two months a parole decision for heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang's killer, who the Chang family says has shunned rehabilitation programs during his 21 years behind bars.

Chiew Seng Liew sat impassively as NSW State Parole Authority chairman Ian Pike held a brief hearing at Parramatta on Friday.

The 69-year-old white-haired murderer looked frail as he appeared via videolink from Long Bay jail.

He has spent 21 years in prison for the July 1991 murder of Dr Chang and has advanced Parkinson's disease.

Counsel for NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith, Paul Menzies QC, argued that a decision on allowing Liew out on parole should be adjourned to await a neurological report on his illness.

Mr Pike agreed, deferring a parole decision until September 5, but warned he didn't want an adjournment to "go over too long".

The Victims of Crime Assistance League of NSW said it was concerned at Liew's failure to undertake behavioural or literacy programs during his time in jail.

"The offender has snubbed such programs and now takes the approach that he is too old to gain any benefit from such programs," Howard Brown, representing the Chang family, said in a written submission to the parole authority.

"He fails to ... answer why he failed to avail himself of these opportunities for some 20 years.

"The offender's conduct whilst in custody is nothing but an insult to the Chang family, and his impending release does nothing to enhance their feelings toward him."

If Liew is granted parole he will immediately be deported back to his native Malaysia.

Liew's solicitor Aaron Debattista argued there would be little point in delaying his client's release.

"Mr Liew remains a person who would be incapable of undertaking programs if he remains in custody," he told the hearing.

"As an unlawful non-citizen, at the conclusion of his sentence, he would not be entitled to any medical or social security assistance in the normal way."

Liew was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in prison for firing two shots, one of which killed 54-year-old Dr Chang, during a failed extortion attempt at Mosman, on Sydney's lower north shore, on July 4, 1991.

He was refused parole when his 20-year non-parole period expired in July last year, but the SPA formed an intention to grant parole, during a private hearing in May.

Liew's partner in the murder, Phillip Choon Tee Lim, was deported to Malaysia in 2010 after serving 18 years of his maximum 24-year sentence for providing the gun.

Liew remains in the hospital at Long Bay Correctional Centre and will be immediately deported by the Department of Immigration upon his release.

He was told about the SPA's decision through a Cantonese interpreter.

Shanghai-born Dr Chang, a pioneer in techniques and procedures for heart transplants, was celebrated for his successful transplant operation on 14-year-old Fiona Coote in 1984.

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