Nicky Liow's Brothers And 12 Others Linked To 'Nicky Gang' Are Now Free Men
The 14 individuals were acquitted from all charges.
The Court of Appeal has acquitted and discharged 14 individuals linked to 'Nicky Gang' from charges of being involved in the organised crime group in 2017
According to Bernama, the three-panel judge led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Mat Said made the unanimous decision yesterday, 7 July, to free the group after lawyer Datuk Rajpal Singh, representing the 13 individuals, informed that the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) had received representations from all appellants to be fully acquitted of the charges.
"The High Court's order of discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) is set aside. With this, all the accused are acquitted and discharged from the charges," said Kamaludin, who was joined by Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Hashim Hamzah.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar confirmed with the court that the AGC had received and considered the representations from the appellants.
The 14th appellant was represented by lawyer Jasmine Cheong.
The decision on Thursday came after the Shah Alam High Court's decision on 30 September last year, which saw the 14 individuals being granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA)
Justice Abd Halim Aman made the decision in 2021 after an application was filed to release all the accused without being acquitted as the prosecution intended to pursue the charges in the future.
However, the Court of Appeal's decision yesterday acquitted them.
Of the 14 individuals, two are Nicky Liow Soon Hee's younger brothers, Datuk Liow Wei Kin and Datuk Liow Wei Loon.
Nicky is accused of being the leader of the alleged crime group.
Other accused include Lee Han Keat, Lee Kam Onn, Datuk Lee Kum Weng, Eee Eng Chee, Dr Jovian Joris Tan Chern Chian, Datuk Loo Siew Chin, Lim Kang Li, and Datuk Seri Andrew Lim Kim Ming.
Four more individuals are Chinese nationals, namely Huang Lei, Wang Yu Jun, Gu Xing Qiong, and Jiang Xue.
13 of the individuals were charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for being a member of an organised crime group, which carries a maximum of 20 years in jail upon conviction.
They were accused of being a member of the Nicky Gang around SetiaWalk, Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong between 1 January 2017 and 20 March 2021.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Andrew Lim Kim Ming was accused of assisting the same criminal group at the same location between 1 January 2017 and 29 March 2021.
He was charged under Section 130W of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment if found guilty.