The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock today ordered a re-examination of a reported final note found in his bag.

NONE The re-examination, applied for by counsel for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Shafee Abdullah ( left ), will focus on the scratched-out section of the note.

Commission chairperson James Foong said the note should be sent to the Chemistry Department as soon as possible to lift the words scratched out on the note.

“If it is in a language other than Bahasa Malaysia, then it will be translated into Bahasa Malaysia by a certified court interpreter,” he said after the inquiry reconvened briefly to hear Shafee’s application.

The note first came to light midway into an earlier inquest on Teoh’s death, immediately sparking controversy as it was only tendered as evidence almost a year after Teoh was found dead on the fifth-floor landing of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.

While the note was found inside a notebook kept in Teoh’s bag, the identity of the note’s author and the purpose of the note has yet to be established .

Shafee, in arguing his case, said it would be important to establish what exactly was written before it was “vigorously” scratched out by the note’s author, as it would help give a clearer picture of Teoh’s state of mind - if it is proven that the latter had indeed written the note.

Proof Teoh 'was thinking clearly'

Met outside court, Shafee said if the note was written by Teoh, then the fact that the latter had scratched out part of the note would prove that he was still “thinking clearly”.

NONE By comparing what was written under the scratched-out section of the note with the rest of its contents, they could come to a “reasonable inference” that the person who scratched out the words is the same person who wrote the whole note, he added.

“I look at it from the angle of suicide, but I also looked at it from the angle that it was not suicide and I find no evidence to say that it wasn’t,” he told reporters.

“The hallmark question is, was it a suicide? This entire (corruption) case revolved around Teoh Beng Hock. Without Teoh Beng Hock, there is no link. So who should benefit from Teoh Beng Hock’s death? Definitely not the MACC,” he said.

Teoh was found sprawled on the fifth floor landing of Plaza Masalam on the morning of July 16, 2009. He had been held overnight for questioning by the MACC at its 14th floor office in connection with a corruption investigation involving his boss, Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hean Wah.