Beng Hock's case: Sister to address UNHCR on Tuesday

Malaysiakini : The younger sister of the late Teoh Beng Hock has travelled to Geneva to raise the family’s long-running fight for justice at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In a statement today, Koong Hui Yein, chairperson of the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement, said Teoh’s sister, Lee Lan, departed for Switzerland today to attend the council’s 61st session.

Koong said Lee Lan (above, left) is scheduled to address representatives from the council’s 47 member states and other participating nations on March 17.

According to Koong, Lee Lan will highlight the family’s 17-year struggle for justice over Beng Hock’s death and call on the UN to activate relevant human rights mechanisms related to the case.

The family, she said, remains dissatisfied with the investigation, which ended with a “no further action” outcome. “This is a clear demonstration that the Malaysian government has denied the family their Right to Remedy,” Koong said.

Koong said Lee Lan’s mission to the UN aims to highlight that the case remains unresolved despite the passage of time. She added that while the “Malaysia Madani” government presents itself as championing human rights and reform, it has fallen short in implementing the Right to Life and the Right to Equality as guaranteed under the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“This mission aims to use international mechanisms to pressure the Malaysian government to fulfil its human rights obligations and initiate rigorous, professional criminal investigations and prosecutions against the suspects involved,” she said.

Pushing for institutional reforms

In 2009, Beng Hock, who was then Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah’s aide, was found dead after overnight questioning at Selangor MACC, then headquartered at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

A 2011 royal commission of inquiry ruled that 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. In May, the Attorney-General’s Chambers ultimately classified the case as no further action.

Teoh Beng Hock

Koong further said Lee Lan and the association’s team will hold a live broadcast from Geneva tomorrow (March 16) to update the public on the mission.

She added that the family’s effort to bring the case to the UN is not only about seeking justice for Beng Hock, but also about pushing for institutional reforms to prevent future custodial deaths and ensure such a tragedy does not happen again. As of last December, the association had raised RM122,377 through nationwide roadshows and online crowdfunding for the UN mission.

GrayPanther0439 : Pamela Ling, Amri, Pastor Koh and countless others..

BrownDove7179 : So much HOPE in the MADANI GOVT, but this happened. No better than the UMNO GOVT, BUT WORSE..!!!!!!

drkam : To be honest, Teoh Beng Hock was killed when Parti Keadilan Rakyat was running Selangor. At the time, the Menteri Besar could hardly do much with the Royal Malaysia Police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission under federal control. 

Fast forward 17 years. PKR is now part of the federal government, yet somehow this case — along with the famous Altantuya Shaariibuu case — still behaves like a locked drawer with the key mysteriously missing. 

So the family now has to travel all the way to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva just to ask for justice. Imagine that — Malaysians needing a boarding pass to find the truth about something that happened in Malaysia. 

Naturally, someone will probably say this is “not patriotic.” But when justice moves slower than KL traffic on a rainy Friday, people eventually look for another road. If the system worked properly, no one would need to fly halfway around the world just to ask what really happened.

Ganesan1 : Oh great, raise crowd fund from the public if insufficient for your journey to justice, am sure DAP leaders will support by contributing parts of their perks to this assignment. 

BTW, dont forget to highlight the 60-year long apertheid policy here, let foreign journalists do the rest, good or bad.

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