Question MACC officers, not us – Beng Hock's family tells cops

Malaysiakini : Summary

• Teoh Beng Hock’s family condemns the police for repeatedly questioning them instead of investigating MACC officers implicated in his 2009 death, despite the Court of Appeal ruling out suicide or accident.

• Beng Hock’s sister, Lee Lan, highlights 10 unresolved issues, including the involvement of MACC officers in his interrogation and injuries, DNA evidence, and deleted records, urging police to follow the Court of Appeal’s findings.

---

The family of the late political aide Teoh Beng Hock has strongly criticised the police’s reinvestigation of the case, particularly the apparent focus on recording statements from the deceased’s family.

In a statement read out by his sister Lee Lan, she said the police have questioned her and her family members, as well as civil society groups, each time authorities relaunch an investigation in the case - rather than going after the MACC officers implicated in Beng Hock’s death in 2009.

This is despite the Court of Appeal’s finding that Beng Hock’s death was caused by unlawful actions of unknown persons, and ruled out the possibility of suicide or accidental death.

“We are deeply perplexed and outraged. Why do the police summon us for questioning every time they reopen the investigation? Is this an attempt to torture and harass us into giving up? Or is it to try to shift blame onto the victim to find evidence to support the suicide theory, which the Court of Appeal has already ruled out?

“We firmly reject any further police summons for statements. Every possible statement from the Teoh family has already been recorded. We urge the police to respect the law and the court ruling, immediately arrest the individuals named in the Court of Appeal’s judgment and ensure that all offenders - including MACC officers - are held accountable.

“We call on the police to thoroughly study the Court of Appeal’s ruling and to investigate the case based on the findings of Justices Hamid Sultan and Mah Weng Kwai,” she said at a press conference today.

10 issues

As announced by the Teoh Beng Hock Foundation for Democracy yesterday Lee Lan highlighted 10 issues mentioned in findings by the Court of Appeal, a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), and the Bar Council’s observation report on the RCI’s proceedings.

At the top of the list is an interrogation session believed to have taken place at around 3.30am on July 16, 2009, which is the fourth interrogation session against Beng Hock and may have led to his death.

Teoh Beng Hock’s sister Lee Lan

She questioned whether the police had investigated the MACC’s interrogation thoroughly and whether the officers implicated - then-Selangor deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim, investigating officer Anuar Ismail and officer Ashraf Mohd Yunus - had been questioned.

Other issues raised include:

• Whether all relevant MACC officers had been investigated for their potential role in a bruise found on Beng Hock’s neck, which was caused by blunt force trauma (such as strangulation) prior to his death.

• Whether all MACC officers at Plaza Masalam on July 15 and 16, 2009, have been retested for a potential match with an unknown male’s DNA found on Beng Hock’s belt.

• Whether witnesses Sivarasan Thangaveloo and Tan Boon Wah - who previously testified on violent treatment by MACC officers - have been reinterviewed to determine which officers were involved.

• Whether the police have investigated discrepancies in the MACC officers’ statements.

• Whether the police investigated the Klang MACC, which appeared to be aware of Beng Hock’s death at 7am even though his body was only discovered by a janitor later at 1.30pm.

• Whether the police have investigated the deletion of communication records between several MACC officers following Beng Hock’s death, and whether there are plans to recover the deleted records and other deleted electronic data.

• Whether the police would involve experts in various fields to assist in the investigation.

Lee Lan urged the police to reconsider its approach to its investigation, which she said should be based on the Court of Appeal’s findings.She also urged the police to engage with independent experts on forensics, computers, and international criminal investigations.

She demanded the police announce a detailed report explaining how it intends to address each of the family’s concerns.

Found dead

Beng Hock, an aide to then-Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead after overnight questioning at Selangor MACC, which was then headquartered at Plaza Masalam.

A 2011 RCI ruled he was driven to suicide due to aggressive interrogation. However, in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled his death was caused or accelerated by unlawful acts, including those of MACC officers.

On Nov 21 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the police to complete the investigation into Beng Hock’s death within six months after appeals court judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh allowed a judicial review application by Beng Hock’s parents.

Following this, police have revisited the crime scene to build a 3D reconstruction and said it will recall witnesses.

apek superdad : I truly feel sorry and symphatise with the family of the late Teoh Beng Hock. May the late Teoh Beng Hock rest in peace. This is the state of the nation we are in today. A young man with huge potential for his future dies prematurely under suspicious circumstances and there is no accountability. Those that did wrong will be punished, InsyaAllah.

Solo : Hishammuddin Hashim, Arman Alies, Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus. Those are the MACC officers identified as responsible for the detention and interrogation of TBH. Get other MACC officers to rat on them.

More comments here.....