He called his wife Ann once in the driver's seat to continue the conversation they'd been having over breakfast.

As he made his way towards Mosman in the usual Sydney traffic, a beat-up Toyota Corona was in the queue directly behind him.

At the intersection of Bardwell Rd and Military Rd, the Corona deliberately swerved into Dr Chang's car and so the two cars pulled over on the side of the road.

It was 8am when Phillip Lim and Chiew Seng Liew - the occupants of the Corona - pulled a pistol on Chang.

They wanted money. Lim planned to extort $3 million from a wealthy Asian businessman living in Australia, so he could set up a gambling den or massage parlour. They'd picked Dr Chang after seeing an article about him in a magazine.

Dr Chang pulled out his wallet immediately, but there were numerous witnesses watching on in horror.

Mosman Collectivequotes Chang as yelling out to someone, "call the police, theyve got guns."

He was shot twice - once in the head, once in the stomach. He died at the scene.

Liew was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in prison for firing the two shots that killed Dr Chang. After 21 years, he was released and deported back to his home country of Malaysia in 2012.

As The Sydney Morning Heraldreported, it was a decision that "devastated" Dr Chang's family.

"I made a mistake," Liew told the Sevennetwork upon his release. "I did the wrong thing and made the family suffer ... You know I want to apologise for the family."

His co-accused Lim was granted parole after serving his minimum 18-year sentence, which expired in 2009.

Hailed as a "medical genius," Dr Chang was celebrated and admired around the world.

While he personallysaved hundreds of lives, he always had his eye on millions - which could be achieved through medical research.

After his death, the Victor Chang Foundation created by Dr Chang in 1984 with the aim of sharing expertise between Australia and Asia through training in the fields of cardiothoracic surgery, heart and lung transplantation and cardiology, continued on with his work.

But his dream was carried forward even further,with the establishment of The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in 1994. It was opened by Princess Dianawho told those gathered, "Dr Chang was no ordinary cardiac surgeon. He was a visionary."

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Dr Victor Chang saved hundreds of lives. 31 years ago today, he was murdered. - Mamamia