On this date 13 years ago, Teoh Beng Hock died in mysterious circumstances after being grilled at the MACC offices in Shah Alam. Up till now, the family has yet to receive the polic report. Why?
Last month, on 16 June, FMT reported that the High Court had granted permission to the family of the political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, to initiate judicial review proceedings against the police over his death.
The IGP was given a month to complete the investigation. The one month is now up. Teoh died on 16 July 2009, 13 years ago.
Today, his family are desperate for closure but the authorities appear to drag their feet to grant them this small request.
So, after the order by the High Court last month, has the Inspector General of Police (IGP) finally completed the unfinished probe into Teoh’s death?
Teoh was the then political aide to Selangor executive councillor and DAP Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah. He was found dead on the fifth-floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.
He had been held there overnight and questioned by MACC, whose Selangor headquarters was on the 14th floor.
It has been a good 13 years since Teoh’s death. Surely the police will have completed the probe by now. Or are they dragging their feet yet again? Where is the compassion for Teoh’s family? It is a simple request by his parents to want closure into their son’s death. Is that too much to ask?
Najib promised that “No stone will be left unturned.”
Soon after his mysterious death, the ertswhile prime minister and convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak, told the family, “No stone will be left unturned.” He had invited them to his office in Putrajaya two weeks after he was found dead at the Shah Alam MACC building.
This was yet another empty promise. For others, this phrase is synonymous with cover-ups, lies and deceit.
The other occasion Najib used this phrase was after the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, when Najib vowed to establish the cause of the disaster and punish the perpetrators. He said, “No stone will be left unturned…”
A third use of this phrase, was at a press conference, after the helicopter crash in which the former Malaysian ambassador to America, Jamaluddin Jarjis, Najib’s political aide and four other people died. Najib reassured everyone that, “No stone will be left unturned.”
From the word “go”, the investigation into Teoh’s death has been shambolic, the Royal Commission of Inquiry has been equally disastrous and to add insult to injury, the MACC officer, who is alleged to be responsible for Teoh’s death was later promoted and transferred to Sabah, to become head of the Sabah MACC office.
The RCI revealed MACC officers that used excessive violence on Teoh. To date, do we know if any of have these MACC officers have been charged?
Teoh’s final moments were mired in controversy, just like the investigation into his death. Why should it take so long?
The inquest into Teoh’s suspicious death, was farcical. The MACC lawyer, Abdul Razak Musa who grilled Dr. Pornthip, the Thai pathologist, gave the whole world a hilarious demonstration of how not to conduct a cross examination.
Several other questions remain unanswered.
Why should Teoh tarnish the family name for a mere RM 2,400?
Why did the MACC panic when Teoh’s body was found sprawled several floors below from where he was interviewed?
Why was there an appreciable delay in making the police report once Teoh was found?
Why did one of the MACC staff stop by his home in Puchong, to warn his wife and family of the dangers to their personal safety?
What happened toTeoh’s wristwatch?
Why were the CCTVs not working that particular day?
The RCI of 2011 concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide. The MACC lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah charged that Teoh ‘took his life and chose “death before dishonour” to spare the DAP from charges of corruption’.
How ludicrous is that?
Teoh did not have suicidal thoughts and Shafee’s attempt at assassinating Teoh’s character is shocking. Teoh is not here to defend himself and nothing could be further from the truth.
The police’s failure to complete the investigation has dented public confidence in the force. If trust is to be restored, the police could at least complete this one investigation properly.
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