Signature, handwriting on 'note' not Beng Hock's, says his family

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

In a dramatic turn of events, the family of Teoh Beng Hock has disputed the handwriting on the note that Attorney-General Gani Patail claims was a "suicide" note, saying it was obvious the signature and the writing was not Beng Hock’s.

"The family pointed out to me multiple discrepancies in the handwriting in the note, which mainly includes Chinese characters and some words in English, which are in stark contrast to the handwriting of Teoh Beng Hock, both in Chinese and English, in documents written by him before his untimely and tragic death,” their lawyer Karpal Singh said in a statement.

"Even his purported signature is far from his signature on documents he executed before his death.”

Karpal had shown a copy of the note to the family on Tuesday to get their approval for appointing a handwriting expert to give evidence at the inquest.

"The fact that the Attorney-General himself had doubts about the note initially brings into sharp focus the necessity of ensuring the note is authentic," Karpal said.

Grave national suspicion

Indeed, Gani had created a furore on Monday when he suddenly tried to introduce the note as evidence in the inquest.

A press statement relating how his chambers came across the note and why they withheld it despite having allegedly discovered it in Beng Hock’s sling bag last October created even more public confusion and anger.

“I cannot understand why a suicide note was found in TBH’s bag, purportedly apologizing to his boss for disclosing important information,” Gerakan leader Hsu Dar Ren wrote in his blog.

“I thought all belongings of his were kept by the department the moment he was called in. His hand-phone was with the department and was not returned to him, so did the department keep his bag too? In that case, how could he write something and put it inside the bag if the bag was already in the custody of the department?”

Victim of an Umno plot

Senator Ezam Mohd Noor and Khir Toyo

The 30-year Beng Hock was a political officer to Selangor state executive councilor Ean Yong Hian Wah. Ean was among a group of top Selangor Pakatan Rakyat leaders being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for alleged corruption and Beng Hock had been called in for questioning as a witness on July 15, 2009.

Yet, the interrogation was intensive, extending into the wee hours of the next morning. Another witness who was there at the same time as Beng Hock has complained he was tortured during interrogation.

It is widely believed that Beng Hock also suffered the same sort of dubious interrogation techniques. His body was found outside the MACC building around 2pm on July 16, which was also the very day he was due to register his marriage with his fiancé. They were expecting their first child.

“This is a life of somebody, somebody's life - a young man, smart, due to get married very soon, hauled up by MACC and decided, 'no I'm going to kill myself' - there must be a reason," said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Covering up the Umno-MACC conspiracy

The MACC has been accused of conspiring with top Selangor Umno leaders including former mentri besar Khir Toyo in a bid to regain control of the state government. It has denied torturing Beng Hock and claims he committed suicide - right from day one even before the note was discovered.

Government pathologists say Beng Hock died as a result of injuries from a fall from a great height – believed to be from the 14th floor office of the MACC building. However, renowned Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand has said there was 80 percent chance of homicide. She is due to testify at the inquest on August 18.

Speculation is also rife that Prime Minister Najib Razak may have bowed to the hawks within his Umno party to cover up for the MACC due to the manner in which news of the existence of the ‘note’ was first leaked through Umno blogs, Senator Ezam Mohd Noor in Parliament and how the government-controlled press has repeatedly front-paged reports of Beng Hock’s “suicide”.

Hence, the sudden introduction of the dubious "suicide" note especially given that Pornthip’s testimony is likely to further dent the MACC’s case. They are pleading to be absolved from blame while the Teoh family is seeking a 'homicide' verdict from the coroner’s court.

“We have gone through the inquest for a year and they want to raise this now, one week before Dr Pornthip takes the stand,” said Gobind Singh Deo, another lawyer for the Teoh family.