I never imagined this after 9 years, says Teoh Beng Hock’s sister

Teoh Lee Lan says she is grateful for the public's support for her family in pushing for a reopening of her brother's case.

(From left) Teoh Lee Lan, UM law professor Azmi Sharom, forum moderator Ngeow Chow Ying and lawyer Ramkarpal Singh at last night’s event.

KUALA LUMPUR: Nine years ago, a political aide to DAP assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah was taken to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Shah Alam for questioning over alleged fraudulent disbursements of constituency allocations.

On July 16, 2009, the body of Teoh Beng Hock was found on a rooftop adjacent to the MACC office.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate his death concluded in 2011 that he had been driven to suicide, and blamed intensive interrogation by MACC officers.

However, his family rejected the findings, saying it was impossible for Beng Hock to have taken his own life.

His sister, Teoh Lee Lan, now says she never imagined the day when she would stand before a crowd, “celebrating” the authorities’ decision to reopen her brother’s case.

“The last nine years were very tough. I couldn’t have imagined actually standing here, nine years later.

“I couldn’t have imagined that after nine years, you all would be here welcoming me,” she said at a forum commemorating Beng Hock at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here last night.

Lee Lan said the purpose of gathering each year was not only to remember her brother, but to let everyone know that they were still fighting for justice and to find the truth about his death.

She said the first probe by the police was not comprehensive, and the case had arrived at an inquest.

But despite the evidence pointing to criminal elements in the case, she said, the inquest had concluded that it was an open verdict.

“We were not happy with the outcome, so we went to the Court of Appeal. But in the High Court, the decision was maintained as an open verdict.

“We had one last chance in 2014 with the Court of Appeal. Three judges ruled that Beng Hock’s death was caused by the actions of a person or persons, including an MACC officer.

“It was scary to find that there were criminal aspects in the case,” she added. “But the second investigation by the police showed that there was no criminal element in the case. The decision was overturned. That should not have happened.”

She recalled the promise by former prime minister Najib Razak that anyone found guilty in the case would be punished. However, the promise was never fulfilled, she said.

“We hope the new government will fulfil this promise. That’s why we have an annual event, to remind the government to uphold the rule of law.

“We hope the coming investigation by the police will be different from the earlier two investigations. We want the truth. The real perpetrator must be brought to justice,” she said.

‘Change the current system’

Lee Lan also questioned the relevance of her family’s statements to the investigators as they had not been at the scene.

“Even our family members had to testify for the investigators who investigated the case, but our thinking was, ‘what’s so important about our statements?’ We were not there when the incident happened.”

In most cases of custodial death, she said, the burden of proof was with the attorney-general (AG).

“They have to find evidence that – in the case of Beng Hock – the MACC had done something to him. But this should not be the way. We should change the current system.

“The burden of proof should go the other way. For deaths in custody, we hope that the burden of proof will be changed to the people who held the witnesses and suspects, because they were the ones who took care of the witnesses at the time.

“If anything happens to the witness or suspect, they will have to explain and prove their innocence. If they cannot prove their innocence, they should be presumed liable for the case,” she said.

This follows the Cabinet’s approval last month for investigations to be reopened into the case. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said this was to provide justice for Beng Hock’s family, adding that there was a need to know the cause of death.

When met after the forum, family lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said those who were in office during the case trial, including MACC officers and the AG at the time, should be excluded from the coming case trial.

“Anybody who was remotely involved in the investigations in the past cannot and should not be involved in the investigations now. That would compromise the entire process regardless of the outcome,” he said.

In this case, if there was foul play, it would be a police case and would come under the purview of the AG. So he would be able to make a call of exclusion on the ‘old guards’.”

He added that the family hoped to meet the AG in two weeks’ time to discuss the case in further detail. -FMT