UPDATED
By Debra Chong SHAH ALAM, Oct 1 – The Attorney General (AG) appears to be closing doors today in an attempt to bring a quick end to the high-profile inquest of a DAP political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, which started three months ago.
A private lawyer hired to act on behalf of the AG raised more than eyebrows today when he tried to limit the witnesses which lawyers representing Teoh’s family and the state government want to bring in.
Former deputy public prosecutor, Tan Hock Chuan who is assisting the coroner’s court, had argued that there was no need to call senior graft busters, Hishamuddin Hashim and Hairul Ilham Hamzah, into the witness box, despite testimonies from the MACC rank-and-file that they had got their instructions from the two.
Gobind Singh Deo and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, lawyers for the Teoh family and Selangor respectively, were outraged at what they claimed was a gross injustice preventing them from finding out what had really happened to Teoh.
Malik stressed that both Hishamuddin and Hairul Ilham were the most senior MACC officers involved throughout the investigation and would be the best men to shed light on several puzzles, especially as their junior officers had clearly said they got orders from the duo.
The argument went back and forth, with voices getting progressively louder.
Gobind (right), Teoh’s parents and today’s witness Woo Chuan Sing (in black), Teoh Meng Kee (blue) and Tan Boon Wah (white) arriving at the Shah Alam court. – Picture by Choo Choy May
It was not the first time Tan tried to shut the door on further questioning of the MACC.
He first made the indication last Tuesday, when he told magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner, that he would not be calling any more MACC men into the witness box.
The last MACC officer who testified was senior assistant enforcer, Raymond Nion John Timban, said to be the last man to see Teoh alive.
In his statement given before the inquest took a two-week break for Aidilfitri, Raymond said he saw Teoh sleeping on a sofa in the MACC office about 6am on July 16.
He added that an unknown Chinese man who was not part of the MACC had sat with Teoh earlier, about 1am the same day.
The magistrate finally said he would decide on the matter when the inquest resumes tomorrow morning.
Tan had earlier told the court that the mystery of the unknown male DNA found on Teoh’s coat and belt had been solved.
Government DNA expert, Dr Seah Lay Hong, will be recalled to the witness box to reveal the identity of the mystery man.
The 30-year-old political secretary to state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was mysteriously found dead on a 5th-floor landing outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Selangor office at Plaza Masalam here on July 16, after being questioned overnight into claims his boss abused state money.
His family and employer claim foul play was involved.
“He’s a very loving and helpful person,” Teoh’s elder brother, Meng Kee, 33, told the coroner’s court today when he stepped into the witness box.
He is the first in the family to testify.
And when lawyer Gobind asked him point-blank if he knew of any reason that would push his baby brother to suicide, Meng Kee said: “No, sir!”
Two pathologists who carried out the autopsy on Teoh had previously said that the signs point to suicide.
MACC lawyer, Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, who crossed-examined Meng Kee after Gobind, hinted that Teoh,who was pressed to hold a shotgun wedding because his girlfriend was two months pregnant then, may have faced money woes.
He suggested that traditional Chinese weddings were costly affairs running into the tens of thousands, and Teoh could have hardly afforded it on his political secretary pay of only RM1,800 a month.
But Meng Kee disagreed. He said his brother had savings and that Chinese weddings could cost under RM20,000. He added that the siblings would also help Teoh out financially.
Teoh’s friend, Woo Chuan Sing, who had been invited to be the best man at the wedding planned for Oct 3 that will now never be, told the court that he was unaware that his best friend had faced any recent problems.
He had last spoken to Teoh over the phone on the morning of July 15.
Lawyer Malik has been struggling for the past month to bring in a Thai forensic pathologist to support their theory of possible homicide in Teoh’s inquest. He finally succeeded today.
Magistrate Azmil fixed Oct 20 and 21 to hear Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand’s testimony.
(Source: The Malaysian Insider)
No need to call senior graft busters, Hishamuddin Hashim and Hairul Ilham Hamzah, into the witness box, despite testimonies from the MACC rank-and-file that they had got their instructions from the two???
Can close case just like the Altantuya case. Azilah and Sirul obviously had no motive to kill. Like the MACC rank-and-file, they only received instructions from their superiors.
