After one-year wait to see PM, Beng Hock's family meet with PMO officer

Frustrated after a year-long wait to see Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement and the late political aide’s sister Teoh Lee Lan met with an officer from the Prime Minister’s Office today.

The officer, identified only as Ariff, met group chairperson Ng Yap Hwa and Lee Lan at around 3.20pm, holding a meeting that lasted approximately 25 minutes.

After they met the officer, Ng (above) held a press conference outside the Prime Minister’s Office, stating that they had conveyed their demands to Ariff, who promised to relay the message to Anwar’s political secretary, Chan Ming Kai.

He said that they tried to make an appointment to meet Anwar a year ago but nothing had materialised.

“Pakatan Harapan is the one who championed the cause of Beng Hock since (he died) 14 years ago. They should make some changes when they are in power today,” said Ng, who also cited Anwar’s “black eye incident” from years ago to emphasise that the wrongdoers must be held accountable and punished.

He pointed out that Anwar was assaulted during detention, resulting in him appearing in court with a black eye, shocking the nation. The perpetrator, then inspector-general of police Rahim Noor, was eventually punished.

He lamented that to this day, no MACC officers have been held accountable for Beng Hock’s death while in their custody.

Beng Hock was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth-floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned overnight on the 14th floor of the Selangor MACC headquarters.

At the time of his death, he was a political aide to Selangor state executive councillor and incumbent DAP Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah.

In 2011, a Royal Commission of Inquiry determined that Beng Hock was driven to commit suicide following aggressive questioning by the MACC.

In 2014, the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that his death was caused by the act of “a person or persons unknown”, including the MACC officers who questioned him overnight before he was found dead.

‘Even Najib met with us’

Ng called for Anwar to promptly reopen the investigation to ensure that those responsible for Beng Hock’s death are brought to justice.

Subsequently, Lee Lan (above) stated that before Anwar became the prime minister, he had attended Beng Hock’s funeral along with various Harapan leaders.

“He mourned and shed tears in front of the funeral hall, all because an innocent person lost his life in connection with the MACC.”

She questioned why despite former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak arranging a meeting with the Teoh family, Anwar appeared reluctant to do so.

“Even Najib as PM met with the Teoh family, so we just don’t understand why a simple arrangement (for a meeting) has to wait for a year.”

She also urged the public not to forget the injustice suffered by Beng Hock and to seize every opportunity to question Anwar in seeking justice for the deceased.

Beng Hock's family to visit PMO next week

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