For more than 30 months since his murder at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, justice have been denied to Teoh Beng Hock.
Despite an inquest, an exhumation, a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) and solemn undertaking by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to Teoh Beng Hock’s family that “no stone would be left unturned”, the full frightening story of the causes and circumstances for Beng Hock’s murder at MACC Headquarters have still to be told and full justice given to Beng Hock and family.
The Coroner Muntapha Abas in Beng Hock’s inquest had ruled out suicide but had returned an open verdict as there was insufficient evidence to prove that his death was a homicide.
The James Foong RCI came out with a finding overturning the verdict of the Inquest ruling out suicide – concluding that Beng Hock was “driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation”.
This is most unacceptable finding as it was not based on any evidence but completely a leap in speculation by the RCI.
Although no sufficient evidence was adduced at the RCI to establish Beng Hock’s killers, it was clearly established at the RCI that there was a conspiracy of “blue wall of silence” among the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers to “cover up” what actually transpired at the MACC resulting in Beng Hock’s death, with the RCI publicly condemning the MACC Selangor officers except for two “brave” witnesses as a pack of liars who blatantly told lies and perjured at the RCI.
Since the publication of the RCI report in July last year, Najib had washed his hands and cleanly forgotten his solemn undertaking to Beng Hock’s family to “leave no stone unturned” to find out the real causes of Beng Hock’s death – in other words, to hunt down Beng Hock’s killers!
After the publication of the RCI report, Najib said he left the decision of penalising the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) trio named by the RCI to the MACC, the police and the Attorney-General.
There have been no action whatsoever on the part of the police and the Attorney-General while what happened in the MACC has been an even greater charade – with no news in the past six months about the outcome of MACC internal probe against the three MACC officers implicated with Beng Hock’s death.
Former Court of Appeal judge N.H. Chan in his article “Who killed Teoh Beng Hock” after the RCI report said the implicated MACC officers should not only be charged under Sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Penal Code, but even murder under Section 302.
Why has there been inaction whether by the police, the Attorney-General or MACC.
Najib cannot pass the buck of responsibility of fulfilling his “leave no stone unturned” pledge to Beng Hock’s family to a third party.
Pakatan Rakyat MPs will remind Najib in the March Parliament that he has failed to honour his solemn undertaking to leave “no stone unturned” to find out the truth about Beng Hock’s death and demand that he keep to his pledge to Beng Hock’s family or face censure by the electorate in the forthcoming general elections.
Tomorrow the Court of Appeal will sit in Putrajaya at 9 am to decide on the application for leave for appeal against the High Court decision in December rejecting a judicial review of the open verdict of the inquest into Beng Hock’s death.
Will there be justice for Beng Hock tomorrow?