The Royal Commissioner of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock's death has caused a furore of animosity and anger towards the Barisan Nasional government as many think that the finding was tainted with the scent of UMNO interference. Instead of giving answers, the RCI report triggered more questions.
The moment the result was made known, there was a wave of anger amongst the Chinese community who felt that the Teoh family did not find the justice they wanted and there was no closure for them. But even more pain and anguish ahead.
Teoh was found dead in the MACC on July 16, 2009 at the MACC building after being called to give his statement. He was only a witness.
See Chee How, the PKR assemblyman for Batu Lintang believes that Justice is rooted in confidence.
“When right-minded Malaysians are thinking and saying that the RCI’s findings are fouled up, the confidence in the administration and institutions will also be destroyed,” he told Malaysia Chronicle.
According to See, it is on everybody’s mind, even though none has openly said it yet, that you can only have a convincing inquest and inquiry into Beng Hock’s death after a change of government in this country.
Illogical RCI findings
MP for Kuching, Chong Chieng Jen claimed that "no ordinary right-thinking person" can accept the findings of the Royal Commission Inquiry. Chong said the RCI had also failed to disclose the culprits of the abuse and although a few names were mentioned, there was no mention of what next for these people.
"On one hand, they claimed abuses from MACC but on the other hand they said he committed suicide. Make up your mind which to pick," he told Malaysia Chronicle.
For a man with so much to look forward, a new baby and getting married, why would Teoh decide to commit suicide, asked Chong. He warned that the findings would erode further the people’s trust in the government as the family members were not even allowed to play a part in choosing the panel for the RCI.
Reeks of manslaughter
Vice chairman of the PKR national Women’s Wing, Voon Shiak Ni was not at all surprised by the findings of the RCI. “One would have hoped that out of all the darkness that surrounds Malaysia's abysmal governance, there would be some light but alas, it was not so,” she lamented.
To her mind, if there was aggressive questioning and interrogating, the RCI never took the trouble to find out why. If the MACC was the cause of Teoh 'developing' a high risk to commit suicide, then it is responsible for his death. It may not be murder, but it is certainly possible to be manslaughter, she added.
"There was nothing voluntary about Teoh's death. It’s like an eggshell skull principle of law,” she explained. .
The eggshell skull rule is a legal doctrine that says the wrongdoer takes the victim in the condition he or she finds him. There is no allowance for an already weakened state of the injured party. If a defendant negligently injures someone, the defendant is responsible for all the consequences, whether they were foreseeable or not.
Voon said MACC should be taken to task for causing the death of Teoh and whoever was responsible should be charged and not just be given a slap on the wrist.
“I believe even a layman will agree that if not for MACC calling him, Teoh would have been alive happily married with a son now. The whole thing is so unjust for his family. A son, a husband and a father lost forever so senselessly. We should not close an eye,” she added.
Questions abound
Pending state assemblywoman, Violet Yong said Malaysia again became a laughing stock for the world with the RCI finding. She raised several questions for Minister in the PM's department, Nazri Aziz.
Firstly, how could the RCI be cconsidered as completed when the exact roles played by the three interrogators had not been determined? How can three people who could act so inhumanly to torture a man until he decided to jump escape the minimum manslaughter charge?
Violet reminded that after the death of Teoh, the entire MACC office shifted to another office. Was this due to guilty conscience?
“All this hiding and sweeping under the carpet of wrong doing has put the country backward. It makes us lose out to the neighbouring countries in term of economic gain. We are looked upon with suspicion, with no confidence. Who would want to invest in a country like ours,” she pointed out.
For show only
Deputy DAP chairman, Chew Chin Sing, who is also Kidurong assemblyman, said it was impossible to agree with or accept the RCI reports.
“For a young healthy man to walk into MACC and be carried out in a body bag, what sort of conscience do these people have? Worst still, the findings were more hurtful to the family than closure," Chew told Malaysia Chronicle.
:The family would know Teoh best. Why should he want to go and commit suicide if he was abused? He would be more glad to run from MACC instead of jumping down. Unless, he was pushed."
Chew is adamant that the RCI was never interested to find out the truth. To him, the RCI was just Najib’s way of appeasing public anger without any real intention to get at the truth.
Certainly, the RCI into Teoh's death has raised more dissatisfaction than what the federal government had envisaged when it agreed to hold enquiry in the first place. All eyes are now on what steps the Teoh family, and their legal advisors, will pursue next to gain justice for the young man's passing on.
