PKR has slammed the authorities decision to hold an inquest into the death of senior customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed rather than proceed with criminal prosecution, as “suspicious, inappropriate and legally incorrect” in light of suspected foul play.

NONE “An inquest ought not to be ordered where immediate criminal prosecution is more appropriate,” said PKR vice presidents N Surendran and Nurul Izzah Anwar in a joint statement today.

“Sarbani was a perfectly normal and healthy family man who went in voluntarily to assist investigations at the MACC offices; there is no evidence that he was suicidal; and it has been established that he did not possess wealth beyond his means.

“The motive for suicide is simply non-existent. The circumstances point strongly to the existence of foul play in the death of Sarbani, especially in light of his widow's police report on May 2 that an MACC investigating officer had admitted that ''his men" were responsible for the death,” they said.

They were responding to Kuala Lumpur CID Chief Ku Chin Wah’s statement yesterday on the inquest , and the attorney general’s concurrence.

NONE Sarbani ( left ), 56, who was attached to the Port Klang Customs office, was found sprawled on the badminton court at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Kuala Lumpur headquarters in Jalan Cochrane, on April 6.

On Wednesday, the two PKR vice presidents sent a memorandum to the inspector-general of police, demanding answers over the investigation that the police had in mid April said was nearing completion .

Last Sunday Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also pressured the authorities to provide information on police progress especially following the police report by the deceased’s wife that aroused suspicion.

'Misleading the public'

Surendran and Nurul Izzah argued that if there had been doubts over the cause and manner of death, an inquest should have been ordered immediately upon the incident.

NONE “It is surprising and highly questionable why an inquest is being called for almost two months later,” said the duo.

“Further, since the death occurred, the police have given the impression that the investigation was proceeding speedily and that the public and the family would receive an explanation of his death soon.

Was this impression given just to satisfy the public outrage in the immediate wake of this terrible death?” they asked.

They questioned the haphazard manner in which the authorities were dealing with the manner, asking if they were deliberately “misleading” the public due to recent pressure on a progress report.

“More disturbingly, the sudden announcement of an inquest comes a day after Keadilan submitted a memorandum to the IGP questioning the lack of action in Sarbani's case.

“This leads to the inescapable conclusion that the purpose of the inquest is to let the matter drag on and keep the public quiescent,” said Surendran and Nurul Izzah.

To date, they said, the authorities have been unable to explain why their investigations have failed to explain Sarbani’s death, and justify the delay in prosecuting those responsible.

Sarbani, an assistant director with the Selangor Customs Department, was among the 62 arrested on April 1 in the operation in Penang, Johor, Selangor and Pahang that also included the Inland Revenue Board, Customs Department and Bank Negara.

Following his untimely death, Federal Territory police chief Zulkifli Abdullah classified the case as “sudden death” and a special task force was set up to investigate the death.