Police have been asked to investigate two “new details” that were spotted by lawyers during an inspection of the scene of death of Selangor political officer Teoh Beng Hock that could turn out to be blood stains.
“We were walking up the staircase to the 15th floor through the backdoor. When we reached the 15th floor, we found a two-feet long stain on the floor of the staircase,” a lawyer for the Teoh family Lim Lip Eng told reporters on Friday.
“We asked the director of Selangor MACC what was the stain but he didn’t know. The police investigating officer said he would inspect the substance.”
Lip Eng was part of the entourage of lawyers, court officials and police that accompanied coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to Plaza Masalam, where the office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is.
The group was originally slated to visit just the 14th floor office and the 5th floor corridor where Beng Hock’s body had been found after a marathon interrogation by MACC officers.
But the lawyers also asked to see the 15th floor, where there were more interrogation rooms. Although they were not allowed to enter, they spotted similar looking stains on a wall in one of these.
“It looked like blood. I can’t say for sure. Once again, we asked the director and the investigating officer and they said they didn’t know about it and did not include it as part of the investigations,” Lip Eng said.
Police not probing into possibility of foul play at all
Upon request from the lawyers representing the Teoh family and the Selangor state government, police are now investigating the two “new details”.
Until the results of the lab tests are out, it is premature and unfair to presume that these are blood stains. Even they are, they may not be Beng Hock’s.
But if blood stains they are – even if they are not Beng Hock’s – then the MACC’s controversial interrogation techniques and its blatant disregard for rules can be guaranteed to come under public fire once again. And rightly so.
Beng Hock is widely believed to be a victim of MACC persecution. He went in for questioning as a witness at 5pm on July 15 and according to the MACC, he was released at 3.45am on July 16.
But he never left Plaza Masalam alive again. His body was discovered on the 5th floor corridor. It is believed he fell from a window in the 14th floor office.
The police probe is based on the premise that he either fell or committed suicide but others believe foul play could have been involved.
Some allege he was pushed out from the 14th floor window, some believe he was killed and his body thrown out to prevent detection of the actual cause of death.
Whatever the theory, Beng Hock is entitled to justice and his family is entitled to the truth. Selangorians are also entitled to know what befell one of their administrators while Malaysians are entitled to know what is going on at the MACC and at their police force.
Public confidence is already at an all time low and despite promises by Prime Minister Najib Razak that there will be no cover up, evidence is already piling up that the police are doing their best to shield the MACC.
Their probe has been shoddy and their specifications for key toxicology and DNA reports deliberately narrow, indicating a will to hide rather than reveal.
“We were walking up the staircase to the 15th floor through the backdoor. When we reached the 15th floor, we found a two-feet long stain on the floor of the staircase,” a lawyer for the Teoh family Lim Lip Eng told reporters on Friday.
“We asked the director of Selangor MACC what was the stain but he didn’t know. The police investigating officer said he would inspect the substance.”
Lip Eng was part of the entourage of lawyers, court officials and police that accompanied coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to Plaza Masalam, where the office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is.
The group was originally slated to visit just the 14th floor office and the 5th floor corridor where Beng Hock’s body had been found after a marathon interrogation by MACC officers.
But the lawyers also asked to see the 15th floor, where there were more interrogation rooms. Although they were not allowed to enter, they spotted similar looking stains on a wall in one of these.
“It looked like blood. I can’t say for sure. Once again, we asked the director and the investigating officer and they said they didn’t know about it and did not include it as part of the investigations,” Lip Eng said.
Police not probing into possibility of foul play at all
Upon request from the lawyers representing the Teoh family and the Selangor state government, police are now investigating the two “new details”.
Until the results of the lab tests are out, it is premature and unfair to presume that these are blood stains. Even they are, they may not be Beng Hock’s.
But if blood stains they are – even if they are not Beng Hock’s – then the MACC’s controversial interrogation techniques and its blatant disregard for rules can be guaranteed to come under public fire once again. And rightly so.
Beng Hock is widely believed to be a victim of MACC persecution. He went in for questioning as a witness at 5pm on July 15 and according to the MACC, he was released at 3.45am on July 16.
But he never left Plaza Masalam alive again. His body was discovered on the 5th floor corridor. It is believed he fell from a window in the 14th floor office.
The police probe is based on the premise that he either fell or committed suicide but others believe foul play could have been involved.
Some allege he was pushed out from the 14th floor window, some believe he was killed and his body thrown out to prevent detection of the actual cause of death.
Whatever the theory, Beng Hock is entitled to justice and his family is entitled to the truth. Selangorians are also entitled to know what befell one of their administrators while Malaysians are entitled to know what is going on at the MACC and at their police force.
Public confidence is already at an all time low and despite promises by Prime Minister Najib Razak that there will be no cover up, evidence is already piling up that the police are doing their best to shield the MACC.
Their probe has been shoddy and their specifications for key toxicology and DNA reports deliberately narrow, indicating a will to hide rather than reveal.
SK
07/08/09
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