02.50 am, Thursday May 24 2012

Chaouks call for justice after murder

17:41 AEDT Mon Aug 16 2010
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Members of the Hells Angels gather outside the Preston Mosque.
Hells Angels bikies turned up for the funeral of alleged crime patriarch Macchour Chaouk in Preston.
Family weep over Chaouk's body. (Nine News)
Family weep over Chaouk's body. (Nine News)
Family weep over Chaouk's body. (Nine News)
Macchour Chaouk (AAP)

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Macchour Chaouk's family have vowed to allow justice, not vengeance, to take its course as Hells Angels bikies joined mourners at the crime patriarch's funeral on Monday.

Several hundred mourners farewelled Chaouk in a 90-minute funeral at Preston Mosque under heavy police scrutiny, with the media camped outside.

The raucous sound of 10 Harley Davidson motorbikes at 11.35am (AEST) signalled the arrival of the Hells Angels, who were greeted with bear hug embraces by Omar Chaouk, the youngest of Chaouk's five sons.

Just before the service got under way, two men, believed to be Chaouk's brother Mohamed and his nephew Ali, approached the media to read out a prepared statement.

The statement said the family was now hoping for police to catch the gunman who killed 65-year-old Chaouk in his backyard last Friday.

In the hours after the killing, some family members were swearing to take revenge, while on Sunday one relative said there would be no wake for Chaouk "until other right people are buried".

But Ali Chaouk played down threats of revenge.

"We want to strongly believe that the Australian justice system and police will secure the right of the innocent victim and his family in bringing the killers of this terrible crime to justice," he said as he read out a one-page statement.

Briefly stopping to regain composure in his voice, Mr Chaouk went on to blame the media for "beating up" the family's notoriety.

He said his uncle lived in a modest house in Brooklyn and not "a compound" as described in some sections of the media.

He warned that the family will sue media outlets "for any misleading, inaccurate and inflammable (sic) comment".

He said it was "gross exaggeration" to describe his uncle's murder as an "underworld killing" or the start of "war in the suburbs".

Mr Chaouk said his uncle was murdered in front of his wife and daughter-in-law.

"The murderer threatened to kill Macchour's wife before he ran away," he said.

A member of a rival Lebanese clan, Ahmed Haddara, was taken into custody last Friday but was later released by police after questioning.

Police said on Monday that Mr Haddara still remains a "person of interest" in the murder investigation.

At a separate media conference at Altona North Police station, deputy commissioner Ken Jones said Mr Haddara was questioned and released because "that is normal practice and they did as much as they could while he was in custody".

"Investigations are continuing into Mr Haddara and he remains a person of interest," Sir Ken said, warned against vengeance.

"If anyone has got any inclination about taking revenge I am just here to warn them and advise them not to do that, not to take the law into their own hands," he said.

"I know emotions are running high, but I will be asking people to calm down and let us do our jobs."

While the media had been corralled into a spot across the road from the mosque "for safety issues", the funeral ended without incident in the bitterly cold weather.

The bikies waited for every member to get on their machines before roaring off as one to join the funeral procession.

Chaouk was buried at the Fawkner Cemetery beside his son Mohamed, who was shot dead five years ago during a police raid on the Chaouk home.

Two of Chaouk's sons, Ali and Matwali, were unable to attend the funeral because they are being held in custody.

Last month Ali was refused bail over a brutal bashing which left a German tourist with a fractured skull, while Matwali is facing firearm offences.

 

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