Teoh's death: Group urges Saifuddin to be transparent on probe prior to NFA

The Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement demanded that Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail be transparent about the investigation into the former Selangor state executive councillor aide’s death.

The group’s chairperson, Ng Yap Hwa, said Saifuddin should have made it clear whether the investigation conducted into Teoh’s death was in relation to murder, homicide or unlawful confinement.

This follows Saifuddin’s written reply to Raub MP Chow Yu Hui’s question in Parliament on Wednesday, on whether there were statements recorded from MACC officers as part of the investigation and if there were reasons given to back the no further action (NFA) classification.

“The police should conduct investigations under Section 302 or Section 304 of the Penal Code, for murder or culpable homicide, rather than merely going through the procedures by taking statements without clear objectives.

“This is especially after the Court of Appeal ruling in 2014 that clearly stated Teoh’s death was caused or accelerated by unlawful acts committed by one or more unknown persons, including MACC officers.

“We must once again emphasise, in his judgment, judge Hamid Sultan explicitly pointed out that in a typical case, had the perpetrators been civilians, the police would have already charged them with murder or culpable homicide,” said Ng.

No prosecution yet

He highlighted that in Teoh’s case, not a single officer has been prosecuted to date, which not only undermines the spirit of justice but also violates the constitutional right to life and the principle of equality before the law.

Ng compared this to the murder case of university student Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara, who was found dead in her hostel in July.

The authorities had acted swiftly in arresting and charging suspects related to her death under Section 302 of the Code, which Ng claimed to have validated the appellate court’s observation.

“But when it involves law enforcement officers, the police are slow, unable to solve the case, and fail to explain what they are investigating.

“We stress that truth and accountability are the only paths to criminal justice (where) every day of delay is a disrespect to the deceased and a further erosion of public trust in the justice system.

“What the public expects is not procedural tokenism, but clear answers and concrete accountability,” said Ng.

Justice, he said, must not be delayed, nor can it be replaced by mere procedural actions.

Saifuddin’s reply

In his written reply to Chow on Aug 14, Saifuddin said the authorities have taken the appropriate action following the High Court’s order in November last year, which directed the police to complete their investigation into Teoh’s death.

“Several MACC officers who were involved or on duty during the incident have been called to record their statements.

“This includes other relevant witnesses, for the purposes of completing the investigation as directed by the court.

“The investigation paper (IP) was referred and briefed to the attorney-general on May 14 (where) the AG has examined the entire facts and evidence in the IP,” Saifudin said.

The home minister, however, stopped short of explaining the second part of Chow's question, where the latter asks for reasons given behind the no further action classification on Teoh's death investigation.

Teoh was found dead in 2009 after an overnight questioning at the Selangor MACC headquarters at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam at that time.

A 2011 royal commission of inquiry ruled that he was driven to suicide due to aggressive interrogation.

However, in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled his death was caused or accelerated by unlawful acts, including those of MACC officers.

In May this year, the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to classify the case as NFA.

Malaysiakini wants to hear from you

Teoh Beng Hock group backs post-mortem, inquest into Zara's death

COMMENT | DAP has closed the book on Teoh Beng Hock

Beng Hock group shoots past fundraising target after public appeal

Beng Hock group seeks over RM10k funds for Lee Lan's UN complaint

Can human rights tribunal revisit deaths like Beng Hock, Adib, MPs ask