Teoh’s sister: My brother was murdered

Teoh Beng Hock's family rejects the RCI findings that he committed suicide and will consider a judicial review.

KUALA LUMPUR: The family of Teoh Beng Hock said today that they rejected the findings of the Royal Commission Inquiry (RCI) that Teoh had committed suicide due to aggressive interrogation techniques by three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.

Teoh’s sister Teoh Lee Lan told reporters that the family cannot accept the report’s conclusion that her brother had been driven to suicide, saying that her brother was not a weak individual.

“We cannot accept the (RCI’s) conclusion… that he was driven to suicide. That is not an answer to us,” she said .

The clearly distraught and angry Lee Lan said that RCI report still failed to provide answers. Although it had pointed to bad interrogation techniques, it fell short of stating that Teoh was murdered.

“(The report) showed that he was badly tortured. But did they prove that Beng Hock was murdered? These RCI finding shows how bad MACC procedure is. (But) it did not tell us what really happened to Beng Hock,”she said.

“It is not an answer for us. We will continue to fight for justice.”

Lee Lan, who was reduced to tears during the press conference, said that her brother was not weak.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Nazri Abdul Aziz said earlier that the RCI conclusion was also supported by forensic psychiatrist Dr Paul Mullen, who was engaged by the Bar Council.

Mullen had said that Teoh’s risk of committing suicide soared drastically due to the long hours of aggressive interrogation.

Lee Lan also said that the MACC had killed her sibling, quoting many eye-witnesses who have recounted their experiences during RCI proceedings.

“They killed him. This fact we know,” she said adamantly.

Lee Lan also slammed the government saying: “The RCI report merely tell us that the government doesn’t want to bear the responsibility. They used some improper manner, but nobody tells who should bear the responsibility.”

“We will not compromise, we will go nationwide and tell all that you are an irresponsible government.”

‘Time needed to study report’

Meanwhile, family lawyer, Karpal Singh, said that more time was need in order to study the report carefully before deciding on the next course of action.

He added that they will most likely decide on the matter next week.

Asked if any legal criminal charges can be taken against the three MACC interrogators, Karpal said that the focus should instead be on the RCI conclusion that Teoh had committed suicide.

“We have to look at the larger picture (the matter) of suicide. The finding (that was) suicide, that is what we are concerned about,” Karpal said, agreeing with the family’s sentiment that they did not accept the verdict of suicide.

Karpal also said that the family would definitely consider a judicial review as suggested by Nazri.

“The RCI, although it is a royal inquiry, it is still an inferior tribunal. In law, its findings are still reviewable by the High Court,” he added.

Elaborating further on the matter of criminal prosecution of the MACC officers, another lawyer for the family, Gobind Singh, said that legal action against officers alleged to have abetted Teoh’s suicide was not a common occurrence and needs time to be studied.

“It is not something that commonly happens. I can tell you in India there is a law that prosecutes in-laws who drive women to suicide,” he said, adding that Malaysia did not have such law.

The RCI, which was headed by Federal Court Judge James Foong, had reached its conclusion unanimously.

Its proceedings, which began in February this year, ended after five months which saw the five-men commission taking testimonies from some 70 witnesses, including MACC and police officers and other forensic experts.

The 124-page report was then was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin on June 22. A copy was also given to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.