Open verdict in Teoh inquest
The packed courtroom broke into a collective sigh as coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas delivered his verdict while Teoh’s mother wept uncontrollably.
Azmil also ruled out suicide and homicide even though he raised doubts that Teoh could have exited unaided from the window on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam before falling to his death following overnight interrogation by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.
Earlier, he said that the likely time of Teoh’s death was approximately between 7.15am and 11.15am on July 16, 2009. This was based on testimony from pathologists.
The coroner said it was clear that Teoh died at the service corridor of the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam.
The cause of death was a result of multiple injuries sustained in his fall, he said.
The coroner also found questionable the handwriting evidence surrounding a note found by police and purportedly written by Teoh.
Despite today’s verdict, Section 339(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that once an inquiry is closed, the Public Prosecutor can still direct the coroner to re-open the inquiry.
Teoh’s family has demanded a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) be set up to directly probe the circumstances surrounding the 30-year-old’s death to find out the real cause — including if he was pressured to jump.
Teoh was political secretary to Selangor state councillor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, at the time of death.
His body was found on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam after he had been questioned overnight by the MACC at its then Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor of the same building.
The anti-graft officers were investigating a claim his boss was misusing state funds.
The police initially classified the case as sudden death; they did not rule out foul play.
A Cabinet minister triggered a public outcry when he suggested that Teoh may have committed suicide, a claim which was denounced by the latter’s family.
Teoh was to have registered his marriage with his then two-month pregnant fiancée, Soh Cher Wei, that same week.
Following the outcry, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met with the Teohs and Soh on July 28.
The PM assured the family “no stone will be left unturned in finding out the real cause of death and, if there is any foul play, action will definitely be taken”.
Najib said the Cabinet has agreed to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to probe further if the inquest result is not satisfactory.
Everybody knows what had happened except the law. He had been beaten and there were strangle marks around his neck. I reckon they beat him up so badly that he died, so they threw his body out the window and claimed he jumped.
ReplyDeleteSure, Kugan also died of asthma. The marks on his body were never explained.