Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide in order to protect his employer and his party, DAP, from charges of corruption, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into his death was told today.

raja petra shafee abdullah sedition case 150808 04 The suggestion, put forward by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah ( right ), was that Teoh could have taken his own life, choosing "death before dishonour".

“Looking at the complexity of the situation Teoh Beng Hock was in, he was under severe pressure because more would be uncovered, he would probably have committed suicide, as an honour suicide and to protect you and the party? As the Chinese proverb goes ‘death before dishonour’,” asked Shafee    .

Shafee posed the question during the examination of Ean Yong Hian Wah, a Selangor exco member and Seri Kembangan state assemblyperson, who is Teoh's employer.

Ean Yong replied that Teoh would “never” commit such an act, adding that the “MACC did their investigation and cleared us”.

Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after being questioned overnight by the Selangor MACC over irregular disbursement of state allocations by his employer.

The anti-graft authority had however cleared Ean Yong of  allegations that he abused funds but added that investigations “hit a blank wall” after Teoh died as the latter’s testimony was “crucial” to the probe.

Shafee attempted to draw a conjecture that Teoh would have opted for suicide as he could have been “worried due to elements of misrepresentation that certain contractors were doing the job instead of someone else”.

Poser over award of contracts

He pointed out that Ean Yong had authorised small scale projects to non-bumiputera contractors that were utilising licenses of Class F bumiputera contractors.

NONE The assemblyperson responded that the non-bumiputera contractors, in this case Hong Chae Enterprise, was also listed under Class F, but he was aware that they were given the project allocated to bumiputera contractors.

“I don’t know the nature of the deals but I know that they cooperate with each other. Because for us, we just want the work done,” said Ean Yong ( right ).

Shafee pointed out to him the payments made to Serdang Aman DAP branch for three state projects, valued RM10,000 and below, that were said to be reimbursements for advance payments by contractor Lee Wye Wing.

Ean Yong, who is the former Selangor DAP head, admitted that he only came to know of the arrangement recently from the new chairperson of the branch.

“When programmes are organised - the contractor, the local associations and the branch - form the organising committee. How they are going to fund the function and who pays first - it’s the committee which decides,” he said.

“My role is just to come up with an idea and form the organising committee,” he said, adding that he was not aware that the contractors hired by him were using bumiputera company licences to run government projects in his constituency.

Shafee: Are you surprised that Class F bumiputera contractors were used when Hong Chae was actually doing all the work?

Ean Yong: Not really, from what I heard Class F contractors are merely licence holders.

Shafee: Are you aware that putting forward a proposal under the name of bumiputera contractors, like Fizami (Constructions) and (Syarikat) Aris, did these project - it is a misrepresentation as companies do not perform?

Ean Yong: (I) don’t agree.

He also disagreed with Muhammad Shafee that large portions of the RM3.2 million allocation for Ean Yong’s usage as the Seri Kembang assemblyperson and for his adopted constituencies - Kuala Kubu Bharu and Batang Kali - were “systematically channelled for DAP activities” in 2008 and 2009.

The RM3.2 million is the total sum of state allocations for Ean Yong, who would disburse it for the Seri Kembangan (RM600,000), Kuala Kubu Bharu (RM500,000) and Batang Kali (RM500,000) constituencies for two years.

The last two constituencies are held by BN and were 'adopted' by the Pakatan Rakyat state government, with Ean Yong in charge of disbursing state allocations.

Panel rejects cheques as evidence

Shafee then submitted a folder containing cheques issued by several contractors that showed proof of payment to a DAP branch.

Ean Yong, however, said that he is ignorant of how these contractors disbursed their claims upon payment from the state for completed programmes or projects.

“These are their business activities,” he said.

The copies of the cheques were obtained after the Putrajaya MACC division took over the probe in August 2009, on allegations of misappropriation of state funds.

“There are cheques from Hong Chae, WSK Services and Shaharun (Enterprise) where payments were made to several DAP entities such as DAP Bandar Sungai Long, DAP Selangor, DAP Serdang Aman,” said Shafee, who then applied to have the copies made available to the RCI.

“The point I’m making is, this shows Teoh’s possible state of mind that if he had known more worms in the can, it would have caused him severe head trauma and may have motivated Teoh to do what he did.

“These monies show a pattern of payment of huge amounts and it cannot be capital provided by DAP... it is their modus operandi of how DAP siphoned government funds to organise political activity,” he argued.

Previously, Shafee had accused DAP of receiving kickbacks from state allocation claims and suggested the possibility of Teoh's involvement, resulting in guilt and restlessness leading to suicide.

Contractors involved in the claims testified that the payment to the various DAP branches were reimbursements of advances given when projects were being completed.

“It may have caused serious consequences to young Teoh... it can’t be repayment of what was extended by DAP... and these cheques will demolish that idea,” added Shafee.

But the commission rejected Shafee's request on the basis that it was not relevant at the time of Teoh’s questioning.

'Teoh treated as a suspect'

Earlier today, Ean Yong told the RCI that his aide was treated like a “suspect” when he was escorted from the Selangor State Secretariat building by two MACC officers.

Ean Yong added that MACC officers whisked him away without even proving their identities, in reply to a question by commissioner T Selventhiranathan.

He said MACC investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail told him that a search warrant was not necessary as the officers had the powers to confiscate and handed him a list of items requested.

Recounting the events on July 15, Ean Yong said he and Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson M Manoharan advised Teoh to cooperate fully with the investigators and promised to pick him up at the MACC office at 11.30pm.

Upon arrival, Ean Yong said he met Selangor MACC investigations head Hairul Ilham Hamzah, who told him that Teoh would only be released after 3.30am.

He told the commission that he attempted to reach Teoh via cellphone and text messages on July 16 but there was no reply.

“Between 12 to 3pm I got calls from reporters, who said ‘something bad had happened to Teoh’ and wanted to confirm (details),” he said.

Ean Yong added MACC officers told him Teoh’s body had been discovered, but they were unsure of what had happened and promised an investigation.

The RCI was established to look into circumstances of Teoh's death and the MACC's interrogation methods. It was formed after an inquest into his death delivered an open verdict which ruled out both suicide and homicide.

The inquiry will resume next week and hear testimonies from Teoh’s family members.