The Ghost Of Teoh Beng Hock Still Haunts

Malaysia Chronicle Pic

The coroner's inquest into the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the former aide of Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, who had been hauled up by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to assist into the investigations of alleged misuse of public funds by his political boss, had returned a most unusual and unsatisfactory verdict : Neither suicide nor homicide.



If Teoh's death was neither suicide nor homicide, it must surely be a case for Mr Mulder himself.

Now the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into his death have concluded that Teoh had in fact committed suicide because he could not stand the aggressive and vigorous questioning by the MACC officials.

Some people are now wondering if indeed Teoh had been driven to suicide whether this was then not murder, or at the very least culpable homicide, on the part of the MACC officials who questioned him.

Teoh was supposed to been been released from custody of the MACC after a night of vigorous questioning and was free to leave the MACC office on the 14th floor of the Shah Alam Plaza Massalam. However, it seemed that he did not leave immediately but stayed back and his body was found sprawled on the 5th Floor of the building the next day, 16th July 2009.

If indeed Teoh could not stand the questioning and had been allowed to go, why then did he not leave immediately? Even if he was tired and exhausted from the interrogations, he could have had called somebody to fetch him. After all, he had a loving, devoted and pregnant fiancee, whom he was supposed to marry soon, waiting for him. And Teoh was still young at 29, and just starting out on a promising political career.

People are also wondering why there was little blood on Teoh's body or at the point of impact or around it when Teoh was supposed to have fallen 9 floors from the 14th to the 5th floor of Plaza Massalam whereas in the case of senior Selangor customs officer Ahmad Sarbani who had also died under similar suspicious circumstances, the latter's body was found sprawled in a pool of blood on the badminton court from the third floor of the K.L MACC Jalan Cochrane office.

People are also wondering whether the expert testimony of world renowned Thai forensic pathologist, Dr Pornthip, was ever given due weight. Dr Pornthip had said that Teoh's death was 80% homicide.

Teoh's family are convinced that he did not commit suicide and are understandably not happy with the RCI finding.

Their lawyers are looking into the RCI report and may be applying to the courts for a judicial review.

It seems that Teoh's spirit may not be at peace yet.

Is the truth still out there, as Mr Mulder himself would have asked?