Thesun 2009-08-27 Page03 Testimony On Alleged Kickbacks Expunged

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| THURSDAY AUGUST 27 2009

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Testimony on alleged kickbacks expunged by Tan Yi Liang [email protected]

SHAH ALAM: The coroner in the inquest into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock yesterday ordered part of the testimony of a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer expunged after it strayed into allegations that Teoh and his boss, Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, had received kickbacks from contractors. Ordering the testimony to be expunged, Azmil Muntapha Abas (pix) said an inquest is not like a trial as there are no parties to prosecute or defend, and the prosecuting officer is only there to assist the court in examining witnesses for the purpose of evidence. He said the scope of an inquest covered: » Who the deceased was, » How the deceased died, » When and where the deceased died, » The cause of death, and » Who, if anyone, caused the acts or omissions resulting in the death. The order came after Gobind Singh Deo, the counsel for the Teoh family, had objected to the line of questioning by MACC counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, who was cross-examining MACC investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail.

Abdul Razak had referred to documents outside an agreement made in court on Tuesday afternoon between him and the other counsel to only question relevant witnesses on Teoh’s statements and four invoices extracted from Teoh’s laptop during Teoh’s questioning. “Yesterday, we were told clearly that the questions that would be put forward would only relate to the invoices printed,” Gobind said. “But what (Abdul Razak) has done was to go into the entire investigation and he has taken this court for a ride.” He challenged Abdul Razak to turn the inquest into the “corruption trial of Teoh Beng Hock” or have the testimony expunged. “We want an adjournment (to review the evidence and call witnesses) and we want the time to take them on. We were keeping quiet out of respect. “We want to establish that DAP and Teoh did nothing wrong, we want all the documents and witnesses to be called. “The court has to rule whether we are going into the entire investigation. If so, we need time to make an application to go into the entire investigation and then go through all the documents and

ZULKIFLI ERSAL/THESUN

MACC but in an area managed by the Plaza Masalam management,” he said. Anuar said Teoh was already out of the jurisdiction of the MACC as he had been released to go home at 3.45am on July 16, after being called in to be questioned on the alleged misallocation of funds by his boss, Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, at 6pm on July 15. “The witness was released at 3.45am and allowed to go home but he had asked to rest for a while. In my opinion, he had gone home that morning,” Anuar said. He said that after he found Teoh’s bag and handphone still in the MACC office, he informed his superiors, Selangor MACC deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim and the head of investigations Hairul Ilham, during a morning briefing. The 17th witness, MACC officer Mohd Azahar Abang Mentari, told the inquest that when he accompanied Teoh on the 10-minute journey from the State Secretariat building to the MACC office, Teoh spoke to someone on the phone in Chinese twice. He said that when he and another officer were ordered by Anuar to interview Teoh on his family and professional background, Teoh seemed “uncomfortable”. The inquest continues.

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Gobind and Ean Yong (right) outside the courthouse where the inquest is being held.

prepare all the evidence. “If not, I ask for this testimony to be expunged. We need to be fair to my client, who is now deceased.” Gobind refuted Abdul Razak’s statement to the court that his line of questioning was necessary to establish Teoh’s mental state. Abdul Razak told the court he was sticking to the four docu-

‘Officer told me of quarrel between Teoh and councillor’ MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail said he was told by a junior MACC officer, Bulkini Paharuddin, of an argument he overheard between Teoh Beng Hock and another witness, Kajang municipal councillor Tan Boon Wah. “I was informed after Teoh’s death by Bulkini that there was an argument between Tan Boon Wah and Teoh at 2.30am in the MACC office,” he said. Anuar also said it was normal for MACC officers to work late as not all the witnesses could be present during the day. “Some witnesses ask to have their statements taken at night so as not to interfere with their daily duties. Also, other witnesses do not want to be seen coming into the MACC office for certain reasons and ask to come in at night,” he said. Asked by MACC counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa as to why he did not lodge a police report immediately after Teoh’s body was found, Anuar said he felt the person who found the body would already have done so. “I believed the person who discovered Teoh’s body had already informed the police. Besides, Teoh’s body was not in the office of the Selangor

TEOH BENG HOCK inquest

ments and that he was not out to “badmouth Teoh”. Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who was appointed by the government to assist in the inquest, also said the line of questioning “had gone too far”. “While I respect that the family of the deceased and the MACC are trying to put forward some theories, we have to set some boundaries,” he said.

Woman, 24, is latest H1N1 victim by Hemananthani Sivanandam [email protected]

‘No’ to massacre inquiry sparks outrage pg 5

PETALING JAYA: A 24-year-old woman became the latest fatality of the Influenza A(H1N1), bringing the death toll to 71. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said in a statement yesterday the woman, who was obese, was admitted to a private hospital in Kuantan on Aug 10 and treated for pnuemonitis. “Two days later, she was referred to a government INFLUENZA A(H1N1) HOTLINE hospital and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) » 03-88810200/300 as her condition deteriorated,” » 03-88834414/415 he said. She was given antiviral treatment immediately and was confirmed to be A(H1N1) positive on Aug 17. She died on Aug 19 due to H1N1 with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). As at 9 am yesterday, 324 patients were admitted with influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms. A total of 1,446 patients with ILI symptoms are receiving treatment from 98 hospitals, including two private hospitals, nationwide. “Of that, only 217 or 15% are confirmed A(H1N1) cases,” Ismail said. Fifty-one of them, including nine new cases, are in ICU. They include 39 who are in the high-risk category, such as suffering from chronic illnesses (21), obesity (nine), children and babies (six), post natal (one) and Down syndrome (two). Ismail also said a dialogue between Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and private medical practitioners on methods of handling ILI cases suspected to be A(H1N1) will be held at 3.30pm today at the ministry’s Bilik Gerakan, on level 4 Block E7 in Putrajaya. All private medical practitioners are encouraged to attend.

Four companies lent letterheads for projects, inquest told THE inquest into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock was told that four companies had lent their letterheads to certain individuals for non-existent projects which obtained approval from Teoh and his boss, Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail said this was based on four invoices obtained and printed from Teoh’s laptop when he was being questioned at the MACC office on July 15 and 16. “The investigating officer had investigated the four documents which showed the four companies had lent their letterheads to certain individuals and that they (the companies) had received commission for doing so,” he said. He named the four companies as Syarikat Fizami Construction, Aris Enterprise, MKMN Enterprise, and MA Bina Melor Enterprise. “Based on MACC’s investigations, Syarikat Fizami obtained 26 projects worth RM147,812, Aris Enterprise got 14 projects worth RM88,275.30, MKMN Enterprise had six projects worth RM50,765, and MA Bina Melor obtained seven projects worth RM69,010,” he said when questioned by lawyer Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, who is holding a watching brief for MACC. “All these projects went to Teoh and Ean for approval.” Lawyer Salim Bashir, who is representing Ean Yong, questioned Anuar on the projects by producing documents containing photographs on the construction work. Salim: Do you agree, based on these pictures, that construction work had been done by the companies concerned? Anuar: Agree. Anuar also said Teoh answered all the questions posed by the MACC officer by giving short answers. – Bernama

Attack on MACC building not linked to Teoh’s death: Police SHAH ALAM: Selangor Police Chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar yesterday said new leads showed that the Molotov Cocktail attack on the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) office in Klang was not connected to the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock. Khalid said investigations on the 3am attack on Aug 21, in which an MACC vehicle was damaged, was nearing completion. “It has no connection with the death of Teoh but involves the MACC,” he told reporters after a dialogue session with Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Selangor police headquarters here yesterday. – Bernama