Turn that stone on Teoh Beng Hock’s death, IGP!

 

Has the inspector-general of police finally completed the unfinished probe into the death, 13 years ago, of political aide Teoh Beng Hock?

Teoh was found dead on the fifth-floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009. He had been held there overnight and questioned by MACC, whose Selangor headquarters was on the 14th floor.

He was then the aide to Selangor executive councillor and DAP Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah.

It has been a good 13 years since Teoh’s death. Surely the police will have completed the probe by now. Or are they dragging their feet yet again?

Where is the compassion for Teoh’s family? It is a simple request by his parents who want closure into their son’s death. Is that too much to ask?

Last month, FMT reported that the High Court had granted permission to Teoh’s family to initiate judicial review proceedings against the police over his death.

The IGP was given a month to complete the investigation. The one month is now up.

Two weeks after Teoh’s mysterious death, the erstwhile prime minister, Najib Razak, invited the family to his office in Putrajaya and told them: “No stone will be left unturned.”

That was yet another empty promise. For others, this phrase is synonymous with cover-ups, lies and deceit.

The other occasion Najib used this phrase was after the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, when Najib vowed to establish the cause of the disaster and punish the perpetrators. He said “no stone will be left unturned…”

A third use of this phrase was at a press conference after the helicopter crash in which Najib’s political aide Jamaluddin Jarjis and four other people died. Najib reassured everyone that “no stone will be left unturned.”

The investigation into Teoh’s death has been shambolic from the word go. The Royal Commission of Inquiry was equally disastrous and to add insult to injury, the MACC officer alleged to be responsible for Teoh’s death was later promoted and transferred to become head of the Sabah MACC office.

The inquiry revealed that MACC officers used excessive violence on Teoh. Have any of these MACC officers been charged?

Teoh’s final moments were mired in controversy, just like the investigation into his death. Why should it take so long?

The inquest into Teoh’s death was farcical. The MACC lawyer, Abdul Razak Musa, who grilled the Thai pathologist, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, gave the whole world a hilarious demonstration of how not to conduct a cross-examination.

Several other questions remain unanswered.

• Why should Teoh tarnish the family name over a mere RM2,400?
• Why did the MACC panic when Teoh’s body was found sprawled several floors below where he was interviewed?
• Why was there an appreciable delay in making the police report once Teoh was found?
• Why did one of the MACC staff stop by his home in Puchong, to warn his wife and family of the dangers to their personal safety?
• What happened to Teoh’s wristwatch?
• Why were the CCTVs not working that particular day?

The 2011 inquiry concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide. The MACC’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, alleged that Teoh took his life and chose “death before dishonour” to spare the DAP from charges of corruption. How ludicrous is that?

Teoh did not have suicidal thoughts and Shafee’s attempt at assassinating Teoh’s character is shocking. Teoh is not here to defend himself and nothing could be further from the truth.

The failure of the police to complete the investigation has dented public confidence. If trust is to be restored, the police could at least complete this one investigation properly. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.