Fresh probe into Teoh Beng Hock’s death at MACC building

KUALA LUMPUR: Right on the heels of the re-opening of the murder case of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Cabinet has decided for a fresh probe into the Teoh Beng Hock case.

Confirming this yesterday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Attorney General Tommy Thomas would be consulted on how to proceed with the case although no date was mentioned for a meeting.

“There is an obvious need to determine the cause of death and for the demands of the family to ensure that justice can be done.

“(Prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed and the Cabinet’s decision is to endorse for the investigations to be reopened,” said Lim, who is also Finance Minister.

“(We have to) discuss with the AG, how it is to be reopened, in what form (and) let it be announced then,” he said, adding that “details would be made clearer later”.

Asked if the matter had been discussed with Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin whose ministry is in charge of the police force, Lim said he has not been consulted yet as he is still on leave.

Party deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo said the previous investigations were insufficient, based on the findings of the Royal Commission Inquiry (RCI) in 2011 and the judgment of the Court of Appeal in 2014.

“We will take this up to the AG and leave it for him to decide where to go from there,” he said, adding it would be for Thomas to look into the police reports of the case and to decide on what grounds should the case be reopened.

“There is a lot of room for the investigations to be reopened, for the case to be looked at from different angles and different approaches to be taken,” said Gobind, who is also Communications and Multimedia Minister.

Also present at the press conference was Teoh’s younger sister, Teoh Lee Lan.

Gobind also urged for the five MACC officers implicated in the case to be suspended while the investigations were ongoing.

The five officers were named in previous reports as Hishamuddin Hashim, Hairul Ilham Hamzah, Mohd Anuar Ismail, Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yusuf and Zulkefly Aziz.

Teoh, 30, was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after giving a statement at the Selangor MACC’s office on the 14th floor of the building.

Lee Lan said the reopening of the case is the first step to discover the truth.

“The most important thing is to bring the perpetrator to justice and find the mastermind behind the politically motivated investigation and arrest,” she said.