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Remembering Teoh Beng Hock

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Malaysians must stand up and speak out against injustice, and never give up till they get answers.

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Free Malaysia Today

They say dead men tell no tales, but there are some deaths we must not allow to be forgotten.

On July 16, 2009, Teoh Beng Hock, a 30-year-old political aide to a DAP assemblyman, was found sprawled on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Selangor offices.

He had been summoned the previous day to assist an MACC investigation into corruption allegations involving his boss.

An innocent questioning session soon turned into a nightmare for Teoh’s family. Within days, his mysterious death had been blown into a major national issue.

Fifteen years after his demise, how many people remember Teoh and how many of the younger generation are aware of the circumstances surrounding his death?

Teoh was a son, father, husband, fiance, brother, uncle, friend or colleague and his name should be familiar to many of us. To date, the details of how he met his untimely end have never been satisfactorily explained. No apology has been received, no satisfactory conclusion reached.

As with most, if not all, of the unexplained deaths of those in custody, the usual response to keep things secret is to issue an official denial, classify something as “Top Secret” or to destroy any incriminating evidence.

At the royal commission of inquiry examining Teoh’s death, the investigation techniques make grim reading.

Teoh’s watch-strap, minus the watch, was found near his body. The investigating officer was unperturbed by the disappearance of the watch and made no attempt to search for it.

However, during the RCI, the IO was ordered to conduct a thorough search for the missing watch: “Go to the site (later this afternoon). Investigate again. Break the bars (and) see how deep (the drain is).”

The chairman of the RCI, former Federal Court judge James Foong Cheng Yuen, said: “The watch is important … as it can tell the time of death.”

The RCI exposed many other irregularities, alleged cover-ups and incompetence on the part of the IO. If memory serves me well, it was to add insult to injury when the RCI concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide because of MACC’s interrogation.

The question many people asked was, Why was MACC overly aggressive when questioning Teoh? The sum of money that formed part of the investigation was a paltry RM2,500. It was not hundreds of millions of ringgit, but did Teoh have to make the ultimate sacrifice for it? Was the MACC questioning a bungled meeting that had gone horribly wrong?

So, how will the police ever try to restore trust and rebuild confidence following their investigation? They need to reform just as this country needs to be reformed.

If we are to improve conditions in the nation, every Malaysian must demand that the government finds out what happened to all those who perished under mysterious circumstances and punish those responsible.

Teoh’s high-profile case has exposed incompetence at the highest level. Not only that, but just about every government department which contributed towards the investigation bungled. These include the chemistry department, the police, the forensic services, the judiciary, and MACC.

If a high-profile case was allowed to fall prey to sloppy methods, how many others have been failed by this system?

Are standard operating procedures adhered to during an investigation? Failure to ensure high standards in behaviour, morality, work ethics and work practices demoralises the workforce.

Teoh’s death and the ensuing investigation is an example of gross incompetence. We must stand up and speak out against injustice, and never give up till we get answers. Only then, will Malaysia be a better place to leave for our children and grandchildren.

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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