‘Najib, do you really care?’

SHAH ALAM: Disappointed with the open verdict on Teoh Beng Hock’s death, his family vented its frustration on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who had ordered the inquest.

“Najib, are you such an insincere leader to let us get such an answer?” asked Teoh’s sister, Lee Lan, after the coroner’s court delivered its verdict.

“Answer me! Are you really a leader that cares about the people? If you had agreed to a royal commission of inquiry, then we wouldn’t have waited for one year just for this. Is this really the nation we are living in? This is not a safe country anymore,” she cried.

Lee Lan also vowed to go around the whole country until she could secure justice for her late brother. “There’s so much evidence to show he was killed, why did you ignore all that, Mr Coroner?” she asked.

Also in tears and clutching a photograph of her son, Teoh’s mother, Teng Shuw Hor, 57, told reporters that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) cannot just wash its hands clean of his death.

“You brought him in and you should be responsible for bringing him out. We received a decision that means nothing. Can we just accept that he died without reason?” she said.

Family to file for review

Teoh’s family has decided to file for a review with the High Court and to push for a royal commission of inquiry to look into the matter.

Gobind Singh Deo, the lead counsel representing the family in the inquest, said that an application would be filed as soon as possible for a revision.

“We’ve decided to do this after speaking to the family. We will either go by way of a motion or a letter to the High Court and we will also continue to ask for a royal commission,” he said.

It is learnt that the lawyers would first need to gather all the notes of the drawn-out proceedings before filing in an application, which could take several months.

Gobind said the inquest had also revealed another important fact – that Coroner Azmil Munthapa Abas had ruled that Teoh was actually subjected to violence while in the custody of the MACC.

“MACC has always maintained that it never harmed Teoh but we’ve got the coroner saying that there is enough evidence to show that there were pre-fall injuries,” he said.

“Now we want to know: How did those injuries to his neck occur and who was responsible? We can’t just sit down and accept this and go away,” he added.

Gobind said the police should also reopen their investigation file based on the open verdict.

Teoh’s former boss, Ean Yong Hian Wah, said he expected the “disappointing” decision as he never had confidence in the court process.

“Now it remains to be seen if Najib will agree to a royal commission,” he said.

Karpal: Coroner was wrong

Meanwhile, lawyer Karpal Singh said the coroner’s decision ought to have been homicide. “He was right to rule out suicide but unfortunately the verdict was wrong.”

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, who was also present, said there was a need for a total and thorough investigation into Teoh’s death again.

“After18 months in court, we’re back at square one, except perhaps the fact that the coroner said there were pre-fall injuries. We need a royal commission to look into this,” he said.

Lawyer Sreekant Pillai, who was representing the Selangor government in the inquest, told FMT that it was disappointing that the coroner had left the decision as an open verdict without listing down recommendations.

“It seems as though he just took the safe way out and left the scene when he could actually have asked for additional investigations to be done.

“Now it’s a gaping hole there as to what really happened. It seems as though Teoh walked in, was tortured and came out dead,” he said.

He added that under Section 339(2) of the Criminal Prosedure Code, the attorney-general could ask for the inquest to be re-opened but it would be based on whether there was any new evidence.

In a statement issued later, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the state government was disappointed with the open verdict.

“This means those responsible for his death have not been identified. The state government wants the police and Attorney-General to investigate this matter further,” he added.

Khalid said the decision also reflected MACC’s failure to be responsible for the safety of its detainees and witnesses.

“So it is no mystery why public confidence in MACC is declining,” he said, adding that a royal commission of inquiry must be formed to probe Teoh’s death.

Khalid also reiterated the state government’s commitment to help Teoh’s family to seek justice and to ensure such an incident did not recur. - FMT