Wife in tears over memories of Teoh

Teoh Beng Hock's wife Soh Cher Wei broke down in tears as she testified before the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into his death.

Tears ran down her cheeks today as she described Teoh's personality and their relationship at length.

Commissioner Mohamad Hatta Shaharom had asked Soh to describe her relationship with Teoh and "what their love" meant to her.

"I considered him as the man I would be with and the person who was to be my companion till the end of my life," said Soh ( right ), after a minute's pause to compose herself and to wipe away her tears.

"He was a good person. He loved me and his family," said the 30-year-old primary school teacher from Batu Pahat, Johor, when Hatta asked what she liked about Teoh.

"When I just got to know him, I found out that he is a person who loved his family very much and he would call his mother almost every day. He would return home to Malacca every week," she said when quizzed by conducting officer Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud.

Hatta : What do you not like about Teoh?

Soh : He can be very noisy sometimes.

Hatta : What makes him happy?

Soh : When we sometimes cook together, he is happy.

Hatta : What makes him angry?

Soh : I'm not sure how to answer. I don't think there is anything. He is not easily angered.

She added that as long as they were together, she had never seen Teoh "sad or crying".

Hatta, who is also a forensics psychiatrist, asked Soh if Teoh would have asked for her hand in marriage if she was not pregnant.

"Yes. I know (it), I just feel it," said Soh, who first met Teoh when they rented a house in Kajang in 2005 and became a couple in 2007.

Teoh then moved in with a former university friend who lived in Puchong when he took up the offer to work as a political secretary to Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah ( right ) in 2009.

Teoh has first proposed marriage in January 2009, but she was still considering the proposal.

They became engaged after a two-year courtship.

It was previously reported that Teoh had planned to register their marriage on July 17.

However, Soh clarified today that the date for registration of their marriage had not been planned but they had discussed hosting a wedding reception on Oct 3. Teoh's family had even booked a restaurant and paid for 25 tables.

The pair were supposed to have gone for their wedding photo-shoot on July 16.

However, on July 15, Teoh was asked to report to the Selangor office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), then housed on Level 14 of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam.

He was questioned overnight as a witness into alleged irregularities in disbursement of Selangor government funds by his employer, Ean Yong.

Teoh's body was discovered on the Level 5 service corridor of the building the next day.

An 18-month inquest returned an open verdict, triggering a public outcry that led to the government creating the RCI to look into the circumstances surrounding Teoh's death, as well as MACC interrogation procedures.

Testimony presented by a senior MACC officer during the proceedings has cleared Ean Yong of any wrongdoing.

Posthumous wedding

Soh married Teoh posthumously in a Chinese traditional ceremony on Aug 15, 2009, and gave birth to their son, Er Jia, on Feb 22 last year.

According to Soh, Teoh and both their families were happy when they were informed of her pregnancy.

She said they "never got the chance" to name their child after the pregnancy was confirmed.

Teoh rarely spoke about politics and work and she was unaware of MACC's investigations on his boss, she said, although he can be "quite talkative".

He did not complain about work troubles or stress and seemed to be pleased with his job.

"He would talk about work only to cancel dinner if he worked late, and I would jokingly complain that he works too hard but it was never serious or angry," she said.

The last time she spoke to Teoh was three days before the incident and "he behaved normally". Nothing seemed to have been bothering him, she said.

‘Teoh a filial son'

Teoh's father, Leong Hwee, older brother, Meng Kee, and younger sister Lee Lan also testified today.

Leong Hwee said he was rarely at home when his son visited their family home in Malacca as he worked late hours as a taxi driver.

As he was often engaged with work, Teoh's father said they rarely communicated.

Meng Kee ( left ), a retail manager, meanwhile clarified that Teoh and he were not able to share a house when he lived in Shah Alam in 2009, before moving back to their hometown in Alor Gajah, Malacca.

"I stayed in a rented room in my boss' house. We could not stay together... but sometimes when we are driving in the area, we bump into each other," he said.

Lee Lan, an accounts' executive on the other hand, was asked to identify the scribbles on the mystery note, allegedly a final note handwritten by Teoh.

"It doesn't look like my elder brother's (writing)," said Lee Lan, who was shown the original copy of the note.

She said the only memory of her brother's handwriting was from an autograph book which he had signed while he was in studying at University Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Lee Lan, who testified in Mandarin, with the help of a translator, also said that her brother was a "filial son" and "an optimistic person".

The hearing continues with the testimonies from psychiatrists Dr Ba'diah Yahya, Dr Noor Hayati Ali and Dr Paul Mullen tomorrow.