KUALA LUMPUR: The family of the late Teoh Beng Hock has filed a court bid seeking an order to compel the authorities to open a murder investigation into his death 17 years ago.
His brother Teoh Meng Kee, father Teoh Leong Hwee and mother Teng Shuw filed an application for leave to commence judicial review on April 17 through the law firm Messrs Lim Wei Jiet.
They named the Inspector-General of Police, the Criminal Investigation Department director, the police and the Attorney General as respondents.
In the application, the family is seeking a declaration that the respondents have a legal duty to investigate the circumstances surrounding Teoh's death under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder or Section 304 for culpable homicide, and to complete the investigation within 120 days from the date of a court order.
Teoh died on July 16, 2009 after a fall from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.
He had earlier gone to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office in Shah Alam to give a statement.
In his supporting affidavit, Meng Kee said three Court of Appeal judges, in their separate grounds of judgment, found that evidence surrounding Teoh's death pointed to homicide.
He said that despite several court orders to reopen or complete investigations, the authorities had failed to begin or complete investigations under Section 302 or Section 304, and instead investigated the case under Section 342 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement.
The investigation under Section 342 later resulted in a decision of no further action, he said.
Meng Kee said Section 342 is an offence against deprivation of liberty and not deprivation of life.
He said it was "an abysmally minor criminal offence relative to murder or culpable homicide" and did not match the severity of events leading to Teoh's death.
Meng Kee said this showed the respondents had no genuine desire to get to the bottom of his brother's death and were attempting to sidetrack the investigation from murder or culpable homicide to a lesser offence.
He said this was unreasonable, irrational and disproportionate, and an indication of bad faith.
The application for leave to commence judicial review is fixed before High Court judge Justice Amarjeet Singh on May 18.
On Jan 5, 2011, the Shah Alam Coroner's Court returned an open verdict in the inquest into Teoh's death, while a Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that he had committed suicide.
In 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that his death was caused by "unlawful acts" by unknown persons.
