There is no necessity in disputing the negligence settlement reached between the government and the family over the late Teoh Beng Hock over the his death, a member of an Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board said today.
This is because the family and MACC have both accepted the High Court's ruling on the matter, said Chin Yew Sin, who sits on Consultation And Corruption Prevention Panel (CCPP), an independent check-and-balance mechanism for the MACC.
Thus, he added, political parties, NGOs and the members of public should also respect the court's decision, he said in a statement.
"There's no necessity for the relevant party, who still feel a sense of dissatisfaction, to dispute the settlement […] they shouldn't do it," he said.
He urged all parties to put an end to the issue for the time being.
This will allow more space for the family to fully recover while the MACC will have more time to fight corruption.
Teoh, who was brought in as a witness by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 15, 2009 was found dead the following day after falling from the 14th floor of the Selangor MACC headquarters in Shah Alam.
On Sept 5 last year, a three-member Court of Appeal panel had reversed the High Court's open verdict decision, ruling that Teoh's death was "accelerated by unlawful acts by MACC officers"
Teoh's family had sued the MACC and 10 of its officers as well as the government for negligence and assault while Teoh was in their custody which resulted in his subsequent death.
'Compensation isn't main issue'
The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday ruled that the government and MACC pay RM600,000 in compensation and RM60,000 as costs to the family which was accepted.
Teoh Lee Lan ( photo ), the younger sister of Beng Hock, however said she was upset with the country's judicial system which calculated the RM600,000 compensation based on the deceased last earned salary.
Chin claimed the settlement between the government and Teoh's family showed the judiciary system had acted fairly and was a good channel to resolve the case.
The amount of the compensation paid wasn't the main issue as the process showed that it was given a due hearing, he added.
He said he also hoped the investigation by the police following the decision of Court of Appeal will be concluded soon.
"MACC will coooperate with the police and we hope the police will conclude the case soon," he said.
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