The coroner's court has fixed Feb 1 to hear the contempt application against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer Raub Ghani.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas set the date after asking Karpal Singh, who is representing Teoh Beng Hock's family, to provide case laws on whether the act of lodging a police report by a civil servant constitutes contempt.

"I need such authorities to decide whether it constitutes contempt before asking Raub to take the stand. So far, no one can cite any case laws that this constitutes contempt,” he said.

NONE However, Karpal said the court can use this as a precedent to decide on the matter because Raub had clearly attempted to derail the proceedings by lodging a police report against Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojasunand, who is hired by the Selangor government.

The report was made following a media report in PKR organ Suara Keadilan quoting a source claiming that Pornthip had confirmed that Teoh was murdered.

“The attorney-general has cleared Pornthip of any wrongdoing, while the inspector-general of police had also assured her safety to come and testify.

“Clearly, the clearance by the AG and the assurance by the IGP indicate that Raub had tried to interfere with the proceedings by allegedly threatening the witness with possible arrest,” he said.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, representing the Selangor government, said he called the pathologist after the report was lodged, and she had decided to consult the Thai Foreign Ministry for further advice.

“The court cannot just evade the issue of contempt against Raub. It must hear the application,” he said.

The coroner then told the court that he was not trying to dodge the matter but wanted parties to cite authorities before hearing the application. Following this, Karpal asked for some time to search for such authorities and case laws.

‘Teoh was murdered’ article

Raub had lodged the report over the Suara Keadilan article which quoted a Health Ministry official as saying that Pornthip had confirmed that Teoh was murdered.

 

The deceased’s family subsequently filed an application to commit the officer for contempt.

azlan Teoh, 30, was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after he had given a statement as a witness on alleged misuse of allocations for state assemblypersons in Selangor, at the MACC office located on the 14th floor of the building on July 16 last year.

 

Earlier, MACC head of prosecution Abdul Razak Musa raised a preliminary objection on the application saying Teoh Meng Kee, who is the deceased’s brother, does not have the locus standi to make the application.

Abdul Razak also claimed the application had not been properly made and hence the court should reject it.

He also urged the court to also cite Suara Keadilan for contempt for publishing the article.

 

“We have yet to get the medical report from Pornthip and from our expert, Dr Peter Venezis. However, the paper reported that Teoh was murdered,” he said.

“Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar made a statement several days before the article was published, warning people against speculating on the matter. Hence the report itself constitutes contempt,” he said.

In Raub's affidavit to strike out the contempt application, the MACC officer said he had no intention to threaten Pornthip.

 

“It is not Pornthip's job to determine the cause of death as the task fell on the coroner who is conducting the inquest. Hence the action to allegedly release such dubious information as reported in Suara Keadilan is sub-judice,” he claimed in his affidavit.

‘Contempt proceeding not a side issue’

Meanwhile, Abdul Razak told the court that the inquest should continue, instead of focusing on the issue of contempt.

 

“We are here to determine Teoh's cause of death. If any of our officers are involved then I would not hesitate to see that the person is charged. It is in the family's interests to see that the inquest be conducted,” he said.

Karpal however submitted that Meng Kee had the right to make the contempt application as he was a family member of the deceased.

“Meng Kee was afraid that following the report, Pornthip may not come (to Kuala Lumpur to testity),” he said.

Agreeing, Malik said the contempt proceeding was not a side issue as it had to be heard following Raub's action to “intimidate” Pornthip.