By Carmeline A.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry, in an unanimous decision, found that Teoh Beng Hock had been driven to commit suicide by “aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous” interrogation by three MACC officers.
The three named were Selangor MACC Deputy Director Hishamuddin Hashim, and his officers Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus.
The commission said that unlawful intimidatory tactics used "would have had grave consequences upon Teoh's mind and would have been a culminating factor that drove him to suicide.”
In the 124-page report released Thursday the commission said that three MACC officers had probably tried to coerce him into making a statement that it was Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, Teoh's boss, who had “directed him to commit unlawful acts in handling” an allocation.
“This session must have been very taxing on Teoh both physically and mentally.
“He had been deprived of sleep throughout that night and into the morning and had had to endure persistent, aggressive and unscrupulous questioning.
“His physical condition as described by Ashraf when fetching him the glass of water was that Teoh had moved to sit in an upright position very slowly.
“This fourth interrogation session, to our minds, must have been the final straw that broke the camel's back.”
Teoh, 30, the political secretary to Ean, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC office on the 14th floor of the same building.
The setting up of the commission was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Jan 26 after the Coroner's Court delivered an open verdict.
The commission also made some recommendations for the change of attitude of MACC officers as there were "serious weaknesses" at the Selangor MACC office.
These include:
a)brutality in interviews
b)poor interview skills
c)poor reporting
d)arrogance
e)poor relationship with the public and other agencies
f)insufficient use and understanding of the capacity of modern technology
g)possible problems with interaction between intelligence-gathering and evidence gathering
h)lack of discipline
Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen chaired the Commission of Inquiry.
The other CI members were former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Appeal Court judge Datuk T. S. Nathan, Penang Hospital's forensic pathology consultant Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, Dean of Cyberjaya Medical Science College University and consultant forensic psychiatrist Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom and Legal Affairs Division Director-General at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Saripuddin Kasim.
Saripuddin was appointed the commission's secretary while Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh (deputy head, Legal Affairs Division I), Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud (deputy public prosecutor) and Kwan Li Sa (deputy public prosecutor) were named conducting officers.
The CI was tasked with investigating Teoh's death as well as whether there were improprieties in the course of the MACC investigations into Teoh, in relation to the standing orders and practices, and to recommend any appropriate action, if necessary.
Throughout the proceedings from Feb 14 to May 18, 70 witnesses were called and 750 pages of written submissions were handed over to the Bar Council, MACC and conducting officers of the commission while 19,200 pages of notes on witnesses' testimonies and 256 exhibits were tabled.
The proceedings uncovered new information such as the content of text messages, telephone conversations and the computer of an MACC officer.
The MACC's investigations also exposed alleged irregularities in the awards of tenders for bumiputera contractors.
The commission, which had appointed its own investigator, former British police officer Michael Leslie Squires, was also assisted by Bar Council representatives and MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Last month, the commission's findings were submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry, in an unanimous decision, found that Teoh Beng Hock had been driven to commit suicide by “aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous” interrogation by three MACC officers.
The three named were Selangor MACC Deputy Director Hishamuddin Hashim, and his officers Mohamad Anuar Ismail and Ashraf Mohd Yunus.
The commission said that unlawful intimidatory tactics used "would have had grave consequences upon Teoh's mind and would have been a culminating factor that drove him to suicide.”
In the 124-page report released Thursday the commission said that three MACC officers had probably tried to coerce him into making a statement that it was Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, Teoh's boss, who had “directed him to commit unlawful acts in handling” an allocation.
“This session must have been very taxing on Teoh both physically and mentally.
“He had been deprived of sleep throughout that night and into the morning and had had to endure persistent, aggressive and unscrupulous questioning.
“His physical condition as described by Ashraf when fetching him the glass of water was that Teoh had moved to sit in an upright position very slowly.
“This fourth interrogation session, to our minds, must have been the final straw that broke the camel's back.”
Teoh, 30, the political secretary to Ean, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, Selangor, after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC office on the 14th floor of the same building.
The setting up of the commission was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Jan 26 after the Coroner's Court delivered an open verdict.
The commission also made some recommendations for the change of attitude of MACC officers as there were "serious weaknesses" at the Selangor MACC office.
These include:
a)brutality in interviews
b)poor interview skills
c)poor reporting
d)arrogance
e)poor relationship with the public and other agencies
f)insufficient use and understanding of the capacity of modern technology
g)possible problems with interaction between intelligence-gathering and evidence gathering
h)lack of discipline
Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen chaired the Commission of Inquiry.
The other CI members were former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Appeal Court judge Datuk T. S. Nathan, Penang Hospital's forensic pathology consultant Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, Dean of Cyberjaya Medical Science College University and consultant forensic psychiatrist Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom and Legal Affairs Division Director-General at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Saripuddin Kasim.
Saripuddin was appointed the commission's secretary while Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh (deputy head, Legal Affairs Division I), Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud (deputy public prosecutor) and Kwan Li Sa (deputy public prosecutor) were named conducting officers.
The CI was tasked with investigating Teoh's death as well as whether there were improprieties in the course of the MACC investigations into Teoh, in relation to the standing orders and practices, and to recommend any appropriate action, if necessary.
Throughout the proceedings from Feb 14 to May 18, 70 witnesses were called and 750 pages of written submissions were handed over to the Bar Council, MACC and conducting officers of the commission while 19,200 pages of notes on witnesses' testimonies and 256 exhibits were tabled.
The proceedings uncovered new information such as the content of text messages, telephone conversations and the computer of an MACC officer.
The MACC's investigations also exposed alleged irregularities in the awards of tenders for bumiputera contractors.
The commission, which had appointed its own investigator, former British police officer Michael Leslie Squires, was also assisted by Bar Council representatives and MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Last month, the commission's findings were submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.
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