The first ranking police officer at the scene where political aide Teoh Beng Hock was found dead said today that he did not verify the identities of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) officers who claims the deceased was their witness.

Inspector Mohd Zulaimi Md Zuber told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Teoh’s death that he simply acted on information given to him by a Plaza Masalam maintenance technician.

Mohd Zulaimi said he was told by the technician that the latter learned from four MACC officers that the body sprawled on the fifth-floor landing of the building was their witness.

Questioning by senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh, Mohd Zulaimi said he did not take down the names of the four officers who the technician had spoke to.

Mohd Zulaimi testified  that the information given to him was enough reason to go up to the MACC’s office at the 14th floor with his superior officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal, to determine whether or not Teoh was indeed a witness of the anti-graft agency.

He is the fourth witness to testify in the inquiry and will be recalled to the witness stand early next month after he returns from a prior scheduled leave which begins tomorrow and end on March 5.

Commission head James Foong said he and other commissioners have many more questions for Mohd Zulaimi and described him as an “important material witness”.

First day of questioning

Earlier, the first three witnesses, all staff of Plaza Masalam, gave their testimonies.

They are technician Mohd Ridzuan Samsuri, security guard Siti Zabedah Yahya and the building’s senior security officer Mohd Khairul Izwan Mohd Nasir.

Mohd Ridzuan, who was the first person to see Teoh’s body up close, testified that he was told by an MACC officer identified only as Azim that the body was that of their witness.

He however could not recall much of the incident, as he said he panicked the moment he realised that the person lying on the landing was possibly dead.

This morning, the panel and the lawyers involved in the RCI spent about an hour inspecting the scene where Teoh’s body was found and the MACC’s former office.

The inquiry continues tomorrow morning starting at 9am.