With the death of Teoh Beng Hock entering the fifth year today, a new trust fund has been set up in memory of the late DAP aide, with the aim of providing assistance to victims of political persecution, torture, custodial deaths and human rights violation.

The Malaysians for Beng Hock support group, which will run the trust fund's secretariat, pledged today to offer a proper channel to the families of other victims, should they face a similar misfortune as Beng Hock’s family.

His younger sister, Teoh Lee Lan ( left ), said the fund, named “Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy”, is for all Malaysian victims in need of legal assistance and any other necessary support.

“We had gone through a lot in the last five years and we deeply understand the pain of victims' families.

“We hope such a trust fund will help more people, that justice can be returned and, hopefully, they will have a shoulder to depend on,” Lee Lan said at a press conference today.

Lee Lan, who is also one of the board members in the trust fund, hoped that its establishment would also remind the police and other relevant enforcement agencies to be more prudent in carrying out their duties.

Death remains a mystery

Beng Hock, 30, who was political aide to a Selangor state executive councillor, was found dead on the fifth floor landing of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.

Prior to this, he was interrogated at the Selangor headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the 14th floor of the same building.

The coroner’s inquest and the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into Beng Hock’s death, which respectively ruled “open verdict” and “suicide”, were both rejected by his family, who believe that criminal elements were involved in the death.

The new trust fund's trustees are Islamic Renaissance Front founder Ahmad Farouk Musa, DAP's Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Toh Kin Woon of Bersih, with national laureate A Samad Said as its chairperson.

The other board members are M Visvanathan (secretary), Ng Geok Chee (treasurer), A Jayanath, Liau Kok Fah, Wong Chin Huat and Ngeow Chow Ying.

‘To inherit Beng Hock's legacy’

Samad, who was also present at the press conference, said the trust fund bears a huge responsibility to inherit Beng Hock's legacy.

“The life of 30-year-old Beng Hock was about serving the people and the nation, and to fix the democratic path. We are here to bear the huge responsibility to fix this corrupt world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wong ( left ) said the setting up of trust fund was to institutionalise the “Malaysians for Beng Hock” support group as a permanent organisation, so as to advocate legal reform and public education.

“We are here to ensure that there will be no more cases such as that of Beng Hock. He represented political persecution and torture in interrogation... one Teoh Beng Hock is too much for us,” Wong stressed.

Those who wish to support the Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy can go to the website at www.teohbenghock.org.

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