The Epping Murder

The brutal murder of 5 persons in Epping in July 18 2009 stunned the state if not the whole nation. It was said to be the largest single homicides in New South Wales' history. The reminiscences of the callous acts may still hang over our heads and the nausea feeling does not dissipate. When the picture of the suspected murderer, Robert Xie, appeared in SMH last week, I vaguely remembered seeing this face before. The name did ring a bell. Someone brought to my attention today that he played badminton with us two years ago. No wonder. I checked the attendance book. He played with us 5 times and the last of which was March 26 2009, 4 months before the atrocious murder.

Everyone is presumed to be innocent before the delivery of a guilty verdict. It is still too premature to comment whether circumstantial evidence suffices to establish guilt. The accused was said to be a successful ear, nose and throat specialist in China. The superintendant heading the investigation said greed and jealousy was the motive. I am not disturbed even if he is eventually convicted of all 5 counts. I have seen too many transgressors of the law before. In reality, you do not see salient features of a criminal. It can be a friendly neighbour or a respectable person. You can only hope it is not someone you trust and befriend or begrudgingly despise.