Thesun 2009-07-30 Page03 Postponement Correct Move Gobind

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| THURSDAY JULY 30 2009

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Inquest postponed to Aug 5 DNA reports. These were later provided by Tan, who however withheld witness statements. Gobind Singh referred to Tan’s statement that the “last thing the government wants is a delay”. “We are not interested in the ‘last thing’. We are interested in justice (to the deceased),” he said, adding that he could not understand why the inquest was being rushed as the police investigation was completed only on Tuesday, and the post mortem report released the same night. Gobind Singh also made references to an incomplete DNA report released yesterday, stating that it could hamper the proceedings by implicating certain witnesses in the inquest. He said the reports should be finalised first, so that any witness implicated could engage a lawyer to attend the proceedings. Earlier in asking for a postponement, he said the coroner should arrange to notify the deceased’s next-of-kin of the date, time and place of the inquest at least two weeks before hand, but that this had not been complied with in Teoh’s case. He also submitted that for a first mention date, parties should be allowed a maximum of three weeks to appear before the coroner, the time to run from the date of receipt of the post mortem report, quoting Practice Direction No. 1 of the Guidelines of Inquest 2007 – Section C on the Notice of Inquest. He informed the coroner that Teoh’s family were attending the proceedings in protest, taking the view that the cause of Teoh’s death should be determined by a royal commission of inquiry.

Teoh Beng Hoc k

Who’s whoinquest:

(From left) Beng Hock’s fiancee Soh Cher Wei, father Teoh Leong Hwee, brother Beng Kee and sister Lee Lan with Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan and Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah yesterday.

by Tan Yi Liang [email protected]

SHAH ALAM: A decision by coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to grant a one-week postponement in an inquest into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Huat was a move in the right direction, allowing counsel time to assess evidence, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said. “We heard the counsel assisting the coroner say in court that the DNA of an unidentified male was found on Teoh’s body. It is good that the magistrate has given us time so that this investigation angle can be completed,” he said outside the courtroom after the hearing yesterday.

Teoh’s family insists on RC SHAH ALAM: The family of Teoh Beng Hock insists on a royal commission of inquiry also determining the cause of his death and not merely examining the mode of questioning employed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. His sister, Lee Lan, said the family expressed their appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for having met the family to explain the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry, but said its scope should be expanded. Lee Lan spoke to reporters outside the magistrate’s court here where an inquest into Teoh’s death yesterday. Teoh’s father Leong Hwee, brother Beng Kee and fiancee Soh Cher Wei also attended the hearing. – Bernama

Lawyers given interested party status SHAH ALAM: Tan Hock Chuan, who is assisting coroner Azmil Munthapa Abas in the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock’s death, has 25 years of experience as a public prosecuter and lawyer. During the proceedings yesterday, Tan said he was appointed by the government on Monday with the written permission of the prosecution to help in the criminal investigation in connection with Teoh’s death. Gobind Singh Deo, who is leading a team holding a watching brief for Teoh’s family, successfully applied to be given “interested party” status, allowing the team to question witnesses during the inquest. Also given equal status was counsel acting for the Selangor government, led by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar. Tan said the government had no objection to this.

Suhakam inquiry into detention of lawyers KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will hold a public inquiry next month into the detention and arrest of five lawyers of the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Bureau. The three-day inquiry from Aug 14 will be conducted by commissioners Datuk Dr Michael Yeoh Onn Kheng and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria at the Suhakam investigation room on the 29th floor of Menara Tun Razak. A statement from the commission said the hearing from 9.30am to 5.30am daily is open to the public. The inquiry is being held to determine, among others, whether the detention and arrest of the five lawyers at the Brickfields police headquarters on May 7 was a denial of legal representation and a breach of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and Section 28 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and therefore tantamount to a violation of human rights. The inquiry will also determine whether there was any justification for their detain and arrest under Section 27 of the Police Act 1967. – Bernama

Coroner Azmil Munta pha Abas Government Tan Hock Ch uan

(counsel appoin Gobind Singh, who s t a t e by government) ted is representing Teoh’s ments, DPP Idham Abdul Ghan i family, said independent saying the Lawyers for Te oh’s family experts would be called to most imGobind Sing h Deo assess the evidence. portant were S.N. Nair Ram Karpal “That will be very those of MalLim Lip Eng Singh telling in the course of aysian Anti Karpal Sing h the inquest and we now Corruption Lawyers for Se have time to send the Commissstate governm langor ent reports to our own sion (MACC) Malik Imtia experts for their opinofficers who Ashok Kandz Sarwar Sreekant Pi iah ions. We hope to do that questioned llai over the weekend,” he Teoh on the Lawyers holdi for Bar Councilng watching brief said. night he died. 12 lawyers Gobind Singh said “We have Teh Poh Teikled by Hisyam the postponement a right to turns on a dawho will take ily basis would also buy time to the witness have more witnesses statements, contribute material evidence. and what is He reiterated his call for witness important to us are recordings of the MACC officers interrogating Teoh that night as they were his last contact.” Veteran DAP politician Lim Kit Siang again called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to expand the scope of a royal commission of inquiry into the matter to include circumstances leading to Teoh’s death. It is at present limited to examining interrogation procedures of the MACC. “The right and proper thing is to have a royal commission and not an inquest. The arguments of the PM and the AG that there cannot be a commission because there is an inquest is untenable because there have been many (such) cases in Commonwealth countries,” Lim said. “The prime minister when meeting the family, said he would leave no stone unturned in probing the causes of Teoh’s death, and up until now not a single stone has been turned,” he said.

KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

SHAH ALAM: An inquest into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock will been postponed to Aug 5 to allow the lawyer acting for his family to study the evidence, the coroner’s court decided yesterday. Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas fixed the date after hearing submissions from all parties, mainly counsel Gobind Singh Deo and government-appointed lawyer Tan Hock Chuan who is assisting the coroner. Gobind Singh said it was not his intention to delay the proceedings, but that he needed time if the proceedings were to be conducted properly. He said lawyers for Teoh’s family also needed to engage experts to study documents relating to the case. “While we want to hurry, we should not compromise on the law, and most importantly the interest of justice,” he said, adding that he needed 10 days. Gobind Singh, who is the Puchong MP, also asked for access to the statements of witnesses. “The officers who interrogated Teoh are the persons closest to the circumstances leading to his death.” The coroner said he would decide on this application before witnesses were called. Seventy-seven witnesses are expected to be called for the inquest which is scheduled to be held over 15 days. In his submission, Gobind Singh had asked for a stay of proceedings under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, stating that the team had not received copies of the post mortem report, CCTV recordings, forensics and

Postponement correct move: Gobind

Noisy transcript system causes a stir SHAH ALAM: The start of an inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock yesterday attracted a large crowd including Teoh’s friends and supporters – some of whom wore black badges which read “Justice for Beng Hock”. Also present were Pakatan Rakyat politicians such as Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang, Batu MP Tian Chua, Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu and Subang assemblyman Hannah Yeoh.

Teoh’s family members were among those in the witness room adjacent to the courtroom, which was equipped with a court recording transcript system. However the system, which enables those in court to view on a large screen what the interpreter types, did not work as smoothly as intended and was such a distraction that it had to be switched off. Counsel Gobind Singh Deo, who was acting for Teoh’s family, asked for it to be turned

off, saying it was “a form of mental torture”. “The projector was next to my head and making a winding, mundane noise,” he said, adding that it was also annoying others. “The light cast onto the screen was reflecting off the back of my head and distracting Rajpal Singh (who was part of a team holding a watching brief for the Bar Council).” It was the first time the system was used in an inquest, having been used in civil cases in the past.

Man kills wife in domestic squabble by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Two women and a man were found murdered in three separate cases reported in the Klang Valley yesterday. At a budget hotel in Kepong at about 6am, a 30-year-old woman died after allegedly being battered with an electric kettle by her husband. According to police, Subaidah Abu Bakar had travelled with her 34-year-old husband from Perak to look for a job here and had been staying at the hotel since Friday. On Sunday, a 20-year-old woman, Subaidah’s friend, came to stay with the couple. Police said the friend, who witnessed the incident, told investigators that a fight broke out between the couple at about 3am when Subaidah’s husband accused her of cheating on him. The husband, said to be a general worker,

then allegedly grabbed a kettle and repeatedly hit his naked wife. The friend said he had slammed Subaidah’s head against the wall several times and when she went her aid, she was beaten up too. Sentul police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan said the friend and the husband then went out for a drink, leaving Subaidah alone in the room. They returned an hour later but found the room locked. Upon getting a spare key from hotel staff and entering the room, they found Subaidah, who had covered herself with a blanket, lying motionless. Zakaria said witnesses told police a commotion broke out at the scene before Subaidah’s husband fled the place. He said police arrived at the scene minutes later and are now looking for the husband. Subaidah’s body has been sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary. It is learnt that she had previously made five reports of domestic violence against her husband over a period of one year.

In Petaling Jaya, police recovered the body of a woman who had been dead for at least two days at a quarry in Bandar Puchong Jaya at about 8am yesterday. Subang Jaya police chief ACP Zainal Rashid said a cowherd spotted the decomposed body and called the police. It is believed the woman had been killed elsewhere and her body, clad in jeans and a T-shirt, dumped at the site. Police found no identification documents on her. In the third case at about 1pm, a gardener who had gone to ease himself in a jungle about 100m from Jalan PJU 1a/5 in Ara Damansara, was stunned to come across a body. He alerted the police who spent the next three hours gathering clues at the site. Petaling Jaya deputy police chief Supt Mohd Shukor Sulong said the decomposed body was that of man whose identity is yet to be ascertained. He said the man had been been dead for at least six days.