The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission admitted today that it has weaknesses, but its deputy chief commissioner (operations) Mohd Shukri Abdull said the agency hopes to build and restore its public image with the conclusion of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) hearing.

NONE Shukri ( right ) said if the RCI managed to identify the culprit involved (in the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock), the MACC would not hesitate in taking action, "as we will not protect them".

This was his aspiration, said Shukri, whose testimony before the panel ended today.

He was responding to a question from commissioner Dr Mohamad Hatta Shaharom, who is the dean of the Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences.

"I admit there are some weaknesses on the part of the MACC. Hence, whatever decision is made by the RCI on the commission, including if it finds anyone responsible in all this, action will certainly be taken against that person.

"We will not protect, as the MACC's image has been tarnished. As a government agency, we hope to restore MACC's image at the conclusion of the RCI.

"Certainly, we want to see justice for everybody, justice for the family and for MACC. This is vital to restore MACC's image."

Panel head and Federal Court judge Justice James Foong said it was the hope of the RCI that this was so.

Foong had earlier asked Shukri to look into ways MACC could improve itself, including having its staff undergo rigorous training in answering questions in court, in a bid to secure victory in its prosecution of graft cases.

Foong said Shukri should look at the United Kingdom's Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 on methods of interviewing witnesses. The British police, Foong said, are trained to answer tough questions from lawyers who were more experienced and sharper than them.

Shukri admitted MACC officers are just given an introductory course on testifying in court, and admitted that they need to shore up their legal knowledge to handle the stress of answering tough questions from experienced lawyers.

MACC can act without report

Yesterday, Foong noted that Shukri was giving answers logically, compared with the rest of his officers.

NONE Besides Foong ( left )and Hatta, the other commissioners are former Federal Court judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Court of Appeal judge T Selventhiranathan and forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh.

Shukri had earlier related that Section 7 of the MACC Act is wide ranging, allowing the search of premises without the need of a warrant or the need for a report before the agency acted.

"If there is a report in a newspaper of a government department being slow in implementing something, the MACC can immediately step in to identify if there is any element of graft involved, resulting in the project being delayed.

"This is despite there being no formal report lodged with the MACC," he said.

However, Foong noted that while the MACC has the power to go into government departments, the fact remains that the Selangor's Pakatan Rakyat government is different, and therefore, MACC should have been more cautious in its approach.

Shukri acknowledged this and promised the MACC would improve further.

The next witness was businessperson Tan Boon Wah, also a Kajang municipal councillor. He had supplied flags for a programme to Teoh's employer and Selangor exco Ean Yong Hian Wah.

Tan testified that he was held at the Selangor MACC office for 17 hours, from 8.30pm on July 15, 2009 up to 1.35pm the next day, and was only released after his statement was recorded.

The witness, who  had been picked up at his Bukit Mahkota home in Cheras, related his experience with the MACC and his brief meeting with Teoh in the pantry that night.

Questionable methods

Tan spoke of the questionable methods employed by the MACC on him when he was subject to interrogation. He said he was made to stand in the officers' room and sleep on the floor.

NONE Tan ( left ) said MACC officer Bulkini Paharuddin had accused him of making a huge profit from the selling of the flags and wanted to show that Ean Yong was behind the marking-up of the price.

“However, I denied this when questioned by Bulkini. He pointed at my nose and acted as if he wanted to punch me. Besides Bulkini, there were two other officers who interrogated me while standing, and later one of them sat down,” he said.

“One of the officers even asked me to admit guilt, reminding me that I should do so if I loved my wife and daughter. However, I stood my ground despite such rough tactics,” he said, adding that this happened between 10pm and 2am.

After his extended detention despite being only a witness, Tan had filed an application for judicial review and sought damages.

While Tan won his judicial review application case at the High Court, he lost the final appeal before the Federal Court, and was ordered to bear the costs of RM30,000.

Sometime after 2am, Tan said, he met Teoh in the pantry while he was rushing to the toilet.

azlan “I saw Teoh’s head was bowed, and I did ask him how he was, but Teoh only replied “Uh”. That was the last I saw him,” he said.

Tan said he had known Teoh since 2006 when he was a journalist working with Sin Chew Daily .

Tan said he slept on the floor of the room and only awoke later and had breakfast with some other MACC officers.

After that, about 11am, the witness said, he gave his statement to an officer and about noon, he was given back his personal belongings.

“I was released about 1.35pm on July 16, after they finished taking down my statement,” he said.

MACC officer last to see Teoh alive

Another witmess, MACC senior assistant superintendent Raymond Nion, said he was the last person to see Teoh alive, about 6am on July 16.

“I was asked by my superior to check Teoh’s email. After getting his email and password, I checked Teoh’s email and found nothing.”

Raymond said about 3am, he saw Teoh sitting on a sofa and talking to another witness, Lee Wye Wing.

He said when he was about to leave about 6am, he saw Teoh sleeping on the sofa.

“I recognised Teoh from his shirt, his hair and build, and I saw him sleeping,” he said in reply to questions from Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The RCI continues at 9am tomorrow, with Raymond and Tan continuing to testify.