A Customs officer was found dead today and is believed to have fallen from the third floor of the MACC building on Jalan Cochrane where he was being investigated over a billion ringgit in unpaid taxes.
During a hastily-convened press conference, MACC investigations director Datuk Mustafar Ali revealed that the deceased was Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, a 56-year-old assistant director from Customs Department in Selangor.
Speaking at Parliament today, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang pointed out that the death comes even as a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) is being conducted into the anti-graft body’s operating procedures following the death of former DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock, who also fell to his death from an MACC building.
Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, where the Selangor MACC office had then been located.
“It is most shocking that this is taking place when the Teoh Beng Hock royal commission of inquiry is going on and clearly there is something which the MACC will have to take full responsibility for.
“MACC cannot completely wash its hands off this and after the Teoh Beng Hock’s case, there should be zero incidents of these falling deaths,” he said.
The Ipoh Timor MP said the MACC must ensure its public confidence and not suffer another major blow to its credibility.
“There should be full explanation of what actually transpired and no cover up whatsoever,” he said, demanding immediate accountability.
“Heads must roll,” Lim said.
He said the current Teoh RCI must be expanded to oversee this death as it has terms of reference, adding that the MACC owed the public an “immediate explanation”.
PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar went further and demanded the resignation of the MACC chief commission, before calling for a thorough investigation into Ahmad Sarbani’s death.
“No matter the manner or excuse, there is clearly a grave weakness in the standard operating procedure, basic governance and precautionary measures of the organisation,” she said via text message.
PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the latest death linked to the commission underlined the need for the MACC to be more professional and improve on existing investigation procedures.
“We have learned nothing from Teoh Beng Hock,” he said.
The Kuala Selangor MP reiterated opposition demands for interrogations conducted at the anti-graft body’s premises to be recorded to prevent further deaths or mishaps.
He said this had to been done urgently before those held for questioning by the MACC ended up as “more statistics”.
During the RCI in March, Selangor MACC investigation unit head Hairul Ilham Hamzah said CCTVs should be installed in interview rooms and Standing Orders should be drafted on interrogation procedures, when asked how the MACC could be improved.
In May last year, the MACC complaints committee had proposed installing CCTV cameras in interrogation areas as part of overhauls to investigation procedures following the death of Teoh last year.
Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah said they also proposed for the commission to study and adopt interrogation procedures practised by foreign agencies, such as Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
It is unclear if there are CCTVs installed in the new MACC building.
This morning, Mustafar said the Customs officer’s body was found sprawled on the office’s first floor at 10.15am.
He explained that Ahmad had returned to the MACC building at 8.26am today unannounced and requested to meet with the investigation officer.
Ahmad’s body was later found sprawled on the badminton court at the first floor.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah confirmed that the case has been classified as sudden death and initial investigation has found injuries to the head.
The MACC last week busted a Customs syndicate responsible for billions of ringgit in tax evasion, money laundering and illegal funds outflows after raiding over 100 different premises nationwide. - Malaysian Insider
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