Advocates Press PM For Teoh Beng Hock Inquiry Renewal

By Lara Lindemann  •  08 Dec 2023 in News

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The Teoh Beng Hock Association is urging PM Anwar Ibrahim to reopen the inquiry into Teoh’s death.

Reports state that despite engaging various officials, including ministers, no progress has been made to reopen investigations on the Teoh Beng Hock case.

Disappointed, the association plans to visit the PMO on 13 December, accompanied by Teoh’s family.

Ng Yap Hwa, the association chairman, expressed frustration over the lack of a concrete response from the unity government despite efforts over the past year.

They were allegedly promised a meeting with the PM during the 14th-anniversary memorial in July, but it has yet to happen.

The Teoh Beng Hock Association plans to visit the PMO, asserting that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ignored their requests to reopen the investigation into Teoh’s death.

Chairman Ng Yap Hwa confirmed that their representatives will go to Putra Perdana on 13 December, expressing disappointment over the prime minister’s lack of action.

In the last year, the association and Teoh’s family wrote to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

According to Ng, there has been no concrete response from the unity government to their demand for a new investigation.

Teoh, a political aide to former DAP assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, was detained by the MACC on July 15, 2009, for alleged fraudulent disbursement of constituency funds.

The next morning, his body was discovered on a rooftop near the MACC office in Shah Alam.

In 2011, a royal commission attributed Teoh’s death to suicide, citing intense interrogation by three MACC officers. After the 2018 general election, Pakatan Harapan promised to reopen the investigation.

However, in January, Ng emphasised the need for the new government to address the issue.

He also urged the home ministry to take the Court of Appeal’s 2014 decision seriously, which implicated MACC officers in Teoh’s death.

In September 2010, a “suicide note” was presented as evidence during the case inquest. The note contained the words “zai jian,” meaning “goodbye” in Chinese.

While it was suggested that the note was linked to his death, many considered it was not substantial evidence.

As reported by Malay Mail, in July 2009, Teoh was found dead on Plaza Masalam’s fifth-floor landing in Shah Alam.

This came after he was questioned and held overnight on the 14th floor of the MACC office.

The Shah Alam Coroner’s Court in January 2011 gave an open verdict, stating neither suicide nor murder was the cause. However, a Royal Commission in July 2011 concluded his death was a suicide.

On 5 September 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that Teoh’s death resulted from a fall accelerated by unlawful act(s) by person(s) unknown, including those of MACC officers.

In 2012, Teoh’s family filed a civil lawsuit for compensation, settling in 2015 with damages of RM600,000 and RM60,000 in costs, acknowledging negligence.

Finally, on 4 January 2022, Teoh’s parents filed a judicial review to compel the police to complete investigations into his 2009 death.

As of now, the case remains another unsolved affair.