PETALING JAYA: A non-governmental organisation has urged the government to conduct a thorough investigation on possible undue influence and monetary benefits involved in the inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16, 2009.
The Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy, in a statement, said it was shocked to learn that Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, who presided over the inquest into the death of Teoh, was slapped with a corruption charge in Shah Alam on Nov 6.
“Azmil, who is now the sessions court judge in Kuala Kubu Baru, together with deputy public prosecutor Khairul Azhwa Yusrie Mohamad and lawyer Noor Amirul Nazreen Anas, was accused of accepting bribes amounting to RM17,500 which was an inducement to release undocumented migrant workers.
“The corruption charge shows that the integrity of Azmil Muntapha Abas is questionable, and it raises doubt whether there were undue influences and monetary benefits in previous cases ruled by him, including the inquest into the death of Teoh Beng Hock in 2009,“ the statement read.
The group also said that police re-investigation into Teoh’s death must probe all available clues and key persons involved in the case – including Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers, police officers, coroner, pathologist and others.
They also called on the police to look into reports that it lodged several months ago and to investigate 10 (unstated in the statement) MACC officers under the provisions of murder or homicide.
Teoh, who was political aide to then Selangor exco Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, hours after he was interrogated by MACC officers at its headquarters on the 14th floor of the same building.
Azmil, who was the coroner in the inquest in 2011, gave an open verdict ruling that Teoh’s death was neither murder nor suicide.
