PASTOR Raymond Koh’s family will look to Merdeka Day tomorrow with grief, for it marks the 200th day since the husband and father disappeared, abducted under inexplicable circumstances.

In a scathing open letter to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, Koh’s wife Susanna Liew highlighted the family’s struggle to cope with her husband’s absence and took the police to task for their silence on the probe.

“We are devastated. What makes it worse is the way you and the police under your command have treated us, Raymond’s family, while conducting investigations into his abduction.

“I do not know why you and the police have chosen to treat us this way. You have ignored the basic obligation to update the family of an abduction victim in a professional and compassionate manner,” Liew said in the letter.

She took issue with the way police had linked a man shot dead in a raid in Kedah over arms, drug and human trafficking, with Koh’s disappearance.

“Why are you doing this? If this sensational story is based on a logical and credible line of enquiry with verifiable evidence, then why not update me accordingly?

“If there is no credible evidence, then why build this narrative in the full glare of media spotlight? Why is there a need for this?” she said in the five-page letter distributed to the press.

The 61-year-old housewife of two daughters and a son also listed down a series of statement made by Khalid since April 2017 and described them as “being vague, bordering (on) sensationalism, with inconsistencies that raise more questions than answers and doubts about the authorities’ commitment to properly investigate the case”.

Liew also said she was “bewildered” by Khalid’s advice to the family on not speaking to the media when he himself “chose to ignore his own advice.”

Koh was abducted in Petaling Jaya on February 13 by about 15 men in three black SUVs. The abduction, which took place during the day, appeared to be well-coordinated.

Residential security cameras captured the entire abduction that took less than 60 seconds, reflecting a professional precision and efficiency not usually seen in kidnappings in Malaysia. The identities of his abductors and their accomplices are still unknown.

In her letter, Liew included weblinks of news reports in her letter to point out the inconsistencies posed by Khalid.

“On June 25, at a Hari Raya Open House function in Bukit Aman, you told the press that there were ‘new leads’ related to Raymond’s abduction.”

These “new leads” were obtained after a shootout between the police and a suspected arms and drug smuggler in Kedah on June 17. But Liew said Khalid’s remarks did not correspond with what Kedah police had said about the same incident the following day on June 18.

“You (Khalid) said there were various photos, (of) the house of the pastor, and license plates bearing the number ST5515D (Koh’s car number plate).

“However, at the June 18 press conference in Alor Setar, there was no mention or display of any evidence linked to Raymond’s abduction, i.e. the photos of our home and cars, and the number plate,” Liew said.

“It is imperative that all parties can work together to ensure that investigations are conducted in a transparent, impartial and accountable manner so that truth and justice prevail.”

Besides Koh, others who went missing in separate cases are Malay couple Pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife Ruth and social activist Amri Che Mat. – August 30, 2017.