A video of a man being assaulted by several individuals in uniform has spread like wildfire through text messages and the internet, because the man was said to be, albeit erroneously, deceased DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

NONE The grainy 5-minute video depicts what appears to be six locals severely beating up a foreigner. The victim was repeatedly kicked, stomped and struck with batons on the legs.

One of the assailants could be heard accusing the victim of ' kacau bini orang ' (disturbing someone's wife) and urging the other assailants 'not to leave marks'.

Judging by the flurry of emails and text messages received by Malaysiakini , many are in the dark as to whether the video really depicted Teoh being assaulted.

Most of the correspondence includes a link to a blog titled ' Putt for Change ' by Sabah businessman Ronnie Klassen, which published the video in an article.

The author included the video to stress his message that the authorities ought to have video or audio recordings of interrogations, in view of Teoh’s mysterious death.

The author does not suggest the video depicts Teoh being assaulted.

Info void fuels rumours

Teoh was found dead on July 16 at Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, a day after he was interrogated at the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office on the 14th floor of the same building.

In a statement yesterday, the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters denied that the assailants in the video were police personnel.

NONE This is the second time the police denied involvement with the video since early June, when the video was featured in the Malaysia-Today blog in an article titled ‘Modern interrogation methods of the Malaysian police’.

Political observer Khoo Kay Peng believes that the rapid spread of the video amongst the public was the result of an information void and lack of transparency on the part of the police and the MACC.

He said the MACC should have explained in detail what happened when its officers interrogated Teoh and revealed the content of the conversations.

"The authorities are shedding little light about what happened to Teoh. This allows rumour mongers to spread ridiculous things.

"If the authorities gave the public a blow-by-blow account, the public won’t believe rumours," he said.

One such blog forced two Selangor executive councillors Ean Yong Hian Wah and Ronnie Liu to lodge a police report after the blog implicated them in Teoh’s death.

Ean Yong was Teoh's former employer.

MACC has also filed a police report regarding the video.