Treat Teoh Beng Hock case as one of murder, says MP

 

Teoh Beng Hock’s family attending an appeal court hearing in 2014. An MP has criticised the lack of progress in the investigation into Teoh’s death. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An MP has called for faster progress in investigations into the 14-year-old Teoh Beng Hock case, and for it to be regarded as a case of either culpable homicide or murder.

Raub MP Chow Yu Hui of DAP said the authorities should not regard the case as one of wrongful confinement, which is a lesser offence.

Chow questioned the “minimal progress” of the investigation, and said the authorities must not hide behind bureaucracy to delay the probe into Teoh’s death.

Teoh, an aide to a Selangor executive councillor, was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, hours after he had gone to the Selangor MACC headquarters on the 14th floor for questioning.

A public inquiry in July 2011 concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide by MACC officers’ use of aggressive interrogation methods.

However, in 2014, the Court of Appeal, in a suit brought by Teoh’s brother, set aside a coroner’s open verdict, stating that “a person or persons were responsible” for Teoh’s death”.

Chow said “the lack of progress and clarity regarding the case only deepens the wound for the Teoh family and contributes to the authorities’ trust deficit”.

The authorities must not use bureaucratic procedures as an excuse to delay the investigation’s progress or to stall justice for Teoh and his family, Chow said in a statement in response to a parliamentary reply by home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

Saifuddin said the police have re-investigated the case as one of wrongful confinement and had been told by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to continue the investigation and obtain statements from key witnesses before submitting an investigation report.

However, Chow said the AGC must take heed of the Court of Appeal judgment and instruct the police to investigate the case for culpable homicide or murder.

“The decision to probe the case for wrongful confinement also raised questions about the authorities’ commitment to ensuring justice and accountability for custodial death cases,” he said. - FMT