Cop: Organised crime suspected

Non-Papua New Guineans involved in killing, says Yakasa

 

By JUNIOR UKAHA

 

THE shooting to death of a Malaysian businessman in Port Moresby on Wednesday afternoon has the hallmarks of a syndicate-type killing, police operations chief Fred Yakasa said yesterday, The National reports.

Condemning the killing of Wong Tee Tee, the general manager of Tango Trading, Yakasa said police had every reason to believe the shooting was well-planned and premeditated.

"We have reasons to believe the killing was planned and organised by non-Papua New Guineans," he said.

"We have reasons to believe that this is an assassination due to the manner in which the shooting was carried out.

 "It is similar in nature to the attempted murder of another Asian businessman and owner of J-Mart (Jason Tan) last year," he said.

"We don't know who the suspects are and the motive behind the shooting but we (police) will get to the bottom of this," Yakasa said.

Yakasa, who was one of the first persons to arrive at the scene of the shooting, said yesterday the killing "is similar in method to the Jason Tan attempted killing and is a new trend".

He said nothing was taken from Wong or removed from his vehicle when he died, saying his killers only aimed to take his life. 

Yakasa said Wong was shot between 3pm and 4pm on the Poreporena Freeway as he was driving from Hohola in his 4x4 Hilux Surf.

The first shots were fired at Wong while he was in the tunnel.

Yakasa said unidentified gunmen in a sedan (registration CAH 036) followed Wong and fired at him several times at close range with a bullet hitting his lung and causing his death.

Yakasa said Wong had lived and worked in PNG for more than 20 years and was well known to the Asian business community.

Police are now appealing to the public around the Hohola area and the city who may have any information about the killing to help them in their investigations.

Meanwhile, president of the Chinese Association in PNG Ni Cragnolini yesterday condemned the murder of Wong.

Cragnolini described Wong as a respectable business identity in PNG and did not deserve to be a victim of such heinous crimes.

She said: "Wong was a well known Chinese businessman and was well respected by many in the PNG Chinese community.

"This is such sad news for all those who knew him and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

"Any killing like this is a shock to all.  It brings bad publicity to the country and causes unnecessary unrest."

Cragnolini went on to condemn the brutal and senseless slaying and called on the police to bring those responsible for this heinous crime to justice.

In conclusion, Cragnolini called for peace and calm in the community. 

"Let the police do their job, be calm and let his family and friends grieve as they lay him to rest," she said.

Also, following questions from media personnel yesterday, Yakasa said: "We have reasons to believe the killing to have been planned and organised by non-Papua New Guineans.

"It is similar in nature to the attempted murder of another Asian businessman and owner of J-Mart but, in that incident, two Asians were involved and caught.

"One of them had been in the country for only a week and both did not speak English or Tok Pisin.

"I assume that there is some level of organised crime syndicate at play somewhere.

"We do not have the evidence to prove this at this point in time but I am confident we will in the near future," he said.

Yakasa said illegal guns were a major concern to police.

"While police have implemented a number of the recommendations within the PNG Guns Control Report, it still requires the endorsement and support of parliament."