Aug 27, 2009 By Lim Kit Siang
MACC should produce proof that Teoh Beng Hock had received RM112 “kickback” or it should withdraw and apologise for the allegation defaming the dead
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) bias and prejudice towards DAP and Pakatan rakyat must be deplored in the strongest possible terms.
The most recent evidence of such bias and prejudice was evident from the testimony of MACC investigator DSP Mohd Anuar Ismail at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest yesterday.
Although the coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas had ordered Anuar’s unfair and prejudicial testimony yesterday to be expunged, the damage had been done.
The Star online for instance carried the report with the heading “Officer claims Teoh was on the take” which is still accessible just minutes ago. The Sun headline today is: ”Testimony on alleged kickbacks expunged”.
Yes, the details of Anuar’s allegations have been alleged but the allegation proper remains, viz: Teoh was corrupt and guilty of “kickbacks”!
In alleging that Beng Hock was “on the take” and had received “kickbacks” MACC had not only defamed the dead but posthumously elevated Teoh’s role from being a witness to a suspect or even a person accused of corruption!
And what is the amount of this corruption money which Teoh is alleged to have received as kickback? An incredible and ridiculous sum of RM112!
MACC is not interested in the RM24 million Istana Khir Toyo or RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandals, but for an alleged RM112 “kickback”, MACC officers are prepared to work through the night and go without sleep.
No wonder public confidence in the efficiency, independence, integrity and professionalism of the MACC is plumbing new depths!
Has the MACC any incontrovertible evidence that Beng Hock was corrupt, being “on the take” and had received RM112 “kickback”?
If so, I challenge MACC to produce them, and if not, MACC should withdraw the RM112 allegation and publicly apologise for defaming the dead, and Anuar should be suspended from office immediately.
Anuar is not interested in helping to find out the truth about the causes and circumstances of Teoh’s mysterious death at the MACC headquarters on July 16 but to add one smear after another defamation on Teoh and Pakatan Rakyat in the MACC war against Pakatan Rakyat, betraying MACC’s statutory objective which was to declare war on corruption!
This is why Malaysians want a Royal Commission of Inquiry as they have so little confidence in an inquest to uncover the actual causes and circumstances of Teoh’s mysterious death at the MACC headquarters.
It is also clear from Anuar’s expunged testimony that the materials he depended upon are very similar to those which appeared on the black blog, http://t4tbh.blogspot.com/, which carried postings of lies and falsehoods about MACC investigations and Teoh’s death, all with one purpose to accuse someone from DAP as having murdered Teoh.
I call on the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan to clarify whether MACC has ventured into the blogosphere in its war against Pakatan Rakyat and state categorically whether MACC has anything to do with this black blog of lies and falsehoods, whether!
If he does not know, has he caused a full investigation to be conducted whether MACC officers are implicated in this black blog?
Today’s press reported the statement by the Selangor Chief Police Officer Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar that the molotov cocktail attack on a MACC vehicle in Klang last week was not related to Teoh’s death.
Last Thursday, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was very quick in making the insinuation that someone from DAP was implicated in the Molotov cocktail attack, saying that it gave some basis to the allegation by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong that some DAP representatives had links to the underworld.
With the statement by Selangor CPO, Nazri should withdraw and apologise for his uncalled-for insinuation against the DAP for being implicated in the Molotov attack on the MACC vehicle in Klang.
Showing posts with label Teoh Beng Hock Inquest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teoh Beng Hock Inquest. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ean Yong denies kickback claims - Malaysiakini
Andrew Ong Aug 26, 09 6:43pm
Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah has strongly denied allegations that his deceased aide, Teoh Beng Hock, was involved in any kickback scams as claimed by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer today.
He said claims of taking commissions from several companies were false and funds received by those implicated - Teoh, DAP national headquarters, Serdang Aman and Sungai Long party branches - were legitimate.
"We have all the receipts to prove it," Ean Yong told reporters today at the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam.
Ean Yong said he was unable to furnish proof at this juncture because he was at Teoh's inquest this morning. However, he has promised to hold another press conference soon to clear the air.
Ean Yong was responding to MACC officer Mohd Anuar Ismail's allegations (mentioned this morning at the inquest) that the four parties had received commissions from certain companies.
The testimony was later expunged from the records by Magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner in the inquest, on grounds that the evidence was beyond the scope of the proceedings.
Reimbursements, not kickbacks
Questioned by MACC's counsel Abdul Razak Musa, Mohd Anuar detailed his findings based on his investigations on allegations that Selangor state reps had misappropriated state allocations for each state constituency.
Mohd Anuar who interrogated Teoh until 3.45 in the morning claimed that the deceased and his party DAP had been pocketing commissions from several companies that were granted small state projects.
Giving an example, Mohd Anuar claimed there were financial improprieties in a function organised to show support for Teresa Kok (right) who was at that time detained under the Internal Security Act.
Asked about Teoh's alleged kickback, Ean Yong vehemently denied the allegation, adding that the deceased was only claiming the cost for the banners that were printed for the function organised by the company.
He said that the money given to Serdang Aman DAP was also another case of reimbursement. In both instances, he said there are receipts to prove the innocence of both parties.
MACC-blog owner collusion?
Ean Yong also distributed copies of four invoices to reporters, referred in Mohd Anuar's testimony as invoices for non-existent projects.
He attached photographs to show that the projects were indeed completed and questioned the MACC's ability to gather proper information and assessed evidence.
"These documents and pictures are available at the land office. Why did they imply that some criminal act was involved? Is this a move to tarnish the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat?" asked Ean Yong.
He pointed out that the four invoices tendered at the inquest by Mohd Anuar were unsigned copies, said to be extracted from Teoh's laptop computer.
"They said these invoices were obtained from Teoh's laptop. The problem is, how did the 'black blog' obtain a copy?" asked Ean Yong, who stopped short of accusing the MACC of colluding with the blog.
Ean Yong was referring to the "Truth For Beng Hock" blog or commonly known as the 'black blog' among DAP circles, which has made a series of allegations that he and his exco colleague, Ronnie Liu, had a hand in Teoh's death.
The anonymous blog had also posted a series of confidential documents, including the accounts for the RM500,000 annual state allocation for each constituency.
Ean Yong and Liu (right) have both lodged police reports against the blog.
Allegations of Teoh and DAP branches receiving kickbacks were also published on the same blog several weeks ago.
Asked if legal action would be taken against Mohd Anuar and the MACC for the damaging allegations made at the inquest, Ean Yong said he would have to consult with his lawyers first.
Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah has strongly denied allegations that his deceased aide, Teoh Beng Hock, was involved in any kickback scams as claimed by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer today.He said claims of taking commissions from several companies were false and funds received by those implicated - Teoh, DAP national headquarters, Serdang Aman and Sungai Long party branches - were legitimate.
"We have all the receipts to prove it," Ean Yong told reporters today at the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam.
Ean Yong said he was unable to furnish proof at this juncture because he was at Teoh's inquest this morning. However, he has promised to hold another press conference soon to clear the air.
Ean Yong was responding to MACC officer Mohd Anuar Ismail's allegations (mentioned this morning at the inquest) that the four parties had received commissions from certain companies.
The testimony was later expunged from the records by Magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner in the inquest, on grounds that the evidence was beyond the scope of the proceedings.
Reimbursements, not kickbacks
Questioned by MACC's counsel Abdul Razak Musa, Mohd Anuar detailed his findings based on his investigations on allegations that Selangor state reps had misappropriated state allocations for each state constituency.
Mohd Anuar who interrogated Teoh until 3.45 in the morning claimed that the deceased and his party DAP had been pocketing commissions from several companies that were granted small state projects.
Giving an example, Mohd Anuar claimed there were financial improprieties in a function organised to show support for Teresa Kok (right) who was at that time detained under the Internal Security Act.
Asked about Teoh's alleged kickback, Ean Yong vehemently denied the allegation, adding that the deceased was only claiming the cost for the banners that were printed for the function organised by the company.
He said that the money given to Serdang Aman DAP was also another case of reimbursement. In both instances, he said there are receipts to prove the innocence of both parties.
MACC-blog owner collusion?
Ean Yong also distributed copies of four invoices to reporters, referred in Mohd Anuar's testimony as invoices for non-existent projects.
He attached photographs to show that the projects were indeed completed and questioned the MACC's ability to gather proper information and assessed evidence.
"These documents and pictures are available at the land office. Why did they imply that some criminal act was involved? Is this a move to tarnish the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat?" asked Ean Yong.
He pointed out that the four invoices tendered at the inquest by Mohd Anuar were unsigned copies, said to be extracted from Teoh's laptop computer.
"They said these invoices were obtained from Teoh's laptop. The problem is, how did the 'black blog' obtain a copy?" asked Ean Yong, who stopped short of accusing the MACC of colluding with the blog.
Ean Yong was referring to the "Truth For Beng Hock" blog or commonly known as the 'black blog' among DAP circles, which has made a series of allegations that he and his exco colleague, Ronnie Liu, had a hand in Teoh's death.
The anonymous blog had also posted a series of confidential documents, including the accounts for the RM500,000 annual state allocation for each constituency.
Ean Yong and Liu (right) have both lodged police reports against the blog.
Allegations of Teoh and DAP branches receiving kickbacks were also published on the same blog several weeks ago.
Asked if legal action would be taken against Mohd Anuar and the MACC for the damaging allegations made at the inquest, Ean Yong said he would have to consult with his lawyers first.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Mystery letter rejected as ‘case exhibit’ for now - Malaysian Insider
By Debra Chong and Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
SHAH ALAM, Aug 24 — The explosive mystery letter, said to be written by anti-graft officers and which led to a sudden halt in the ongoing inquest on DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock’s death last week, hit a brick wall today when it failed to be marked as a “case exhibit”.
Picture courtesy of Malaysiakini
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) director of legal affairs, Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, had stood up at the start of today’s inquest and asked magistrate, Azmil Muntapha Abas who is acting as coroner, to throw out the letter.
Abdul Razak, who is holding a watching brief for the national anti-graft body, pointed out that the letter did not carry any names but made many claims which could not be conclusively proven to be true.
He added that the court should not be influenced by such claims.
Abdul Razak had earlier advised the coroner to ignore the letter for the time being. He noted that the inquest should continue unhampered by unproven allegations.
But he stepped up his calls for the letter to be retracted when lawyers for Teoh’s family and the Selangor government pushed for the letter to be marked and recorded as a key item in discovering how the 30-year-old really died.
“There is no provision under the law to enter a document such as this. We cannot open the floodgates,” Abdul Razak stressed.
He noted that MACC viewed the letter as a “surat layang” or poison-pen letter and added that in previous courts, the letter would have been thrown into the dustbin.
The MACC lawyer’s words provoked an outcry from the other lawyers, especially Gobind Singh Deo, who had received the letter last Tuesday and brought it into court the next day.
Gobind told the coroner he could not “ignore” the letter as he had acted on it, ordering the police to carry out investigations based on it.
Azmil agreed.
While the magistrate decided that the court would keep the mystery letter for the record, it will not mark it for now.
Gobind, representing Teoh’s family, later told reporters that “it would not be wise” to jump to conclusions at this stage “without proper investigations”.
“It is still too early to set aside the contents of the letter,” the goateed lawyer explained.
Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, acting for the Attorney General’s Chambers in aiding the inquest, had earlier recounted the police investigating officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal’s probe results.
The cop had been ordered by the magistrate on Aug 18 to immediately check into the letter’s many claims, including one accusing the Selangor MACC deputy director of having his DNA sample taken behind closed doors for testing to match the DNA profiles of two unknown men, which were found on Teoh’s clothes, raising public suspicion of possible foul play involved in Teoh’s death.
Tan added that a fresh swab test had been carried out by government DNA expert, Dr Seah Lay Hong, on the deputy director’s DNA sample on Aug 20 in the presence of a Malaysian Bar Council lawyer.
The results showed no match between the deputy director’s DNA profile and that of “Male 1” or the other unknown male person.
The letter, dated Aug 5 which Tan told the court today was from people claiming to be “MACC officers”, made four other claims directly related to Teoh's inquest.
Allegation 1 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director had instructed MACC officers involved in the operation not to to involve him in the case;
Allegation 2 – That the MACC officer in question had a certain “interrogation technique”;
Allegation 3 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director had ordered his subordinates to wipe clean fingerprint traces from a window believed to be where Teoh had plunged to his death;
Allegation 4 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director did not punch out his card on July 16, the day Teoh died.
Tan also told the court the cops had checked by recording statements from “relevant witnesses” and found no proof to back them up, except one — that the Selangor MACC deputy director, Hishamuddin Hashim, had failed to clock out.
“He did not punch out,” Tan said, but added that closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras had captured the senior officer leaving the building.
The lawyer also told the magistrate he could ask the man himself why he did not punch out when he was called to the witness stand.
Tan said eight to 10 MACC officers would be called to testify in the next few days.
Teoh Lee Lan, Beng Hock’s younger sister beseeched the public to look into the matter and help them in the ongoing investigations.
“We wish to appeal to anyone who has information about how Beng Hock had died to come forward and pass the information to our lawyer, YB Gobind Singh Deo,” the 28-year-old pleaded.
“Beng Hock’s death was most painful to us. Equally painful is the fact that the cause of his death is still not known. Every single day since July 16 has been a very tormenting day for each and every one in our family,” she added.
The Teoh family — father Hwee Leong, mother Teng Shuw Hoi, elder brother Meng Kee and Lee Lan — were present in court today with former DAP secretary general Kerk Kim Hock, a distant relative, when MACC investigating officer returned to the witness stand.
Teoh’s mother, who sat on the front row in the public gallery, held up a framed portrait of her son towards Mohd Anuar Ismail’s direction when he took the oath, but made no other gesture for the rest of the hearing.
The inquest continues tomorrow morning with Gobind leading the cross-examination of the soft-spoken Mohd Anuar.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 24 — The explosive mystery letter, said to be written by anti-graft officers and which led to a sudden halt in the ongoing inquest on DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock’s death last week, hit a brick wall today when it failed to be marked as a “case exhibit”.
Picture courtesy of MalaysiakiniThe Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) director of legal affairs, Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, had stood up at the start of today’s inquest and asked magistrate, Azmil Muntapha Abas who is acting as coroner, to throw out the letter.
Abdul Razak, who is holding a watching brief for the national anti-graft body, pointed out that the letter did not carry any names but made many claims which could not be conclusively proven to be true.
He added that the court should not be influenced by such claims.
Abdul Razak had earlier advised the coroner to ignore the letter for the time being. He noted that the inquest should continue unhampered by unproven allegations.
But he stepped up his calls for the letter to be retracted when lawyers for Teoh’s family and the Selangor government pushed for the letter to be marked and recorded as a key item in discovering how the 30-year-old really died.
“There is no provision under the law to enter a document such as this. We cannot open the floodgates,” Abdul Razak stressed.
He noted that MACC viewed the letter as a “surat layang” or poison-pen letter and added that in previous courts, the letter would have been thrown into the dustbin.
The MACC lawyer’s words provoked an outcry from the other lawyers, especially Gobind Singh Deo, who had received the letter last Tuesday and brought it into court the next day.
Gobind told the coroner he could not “ignore” the letter as he had acted on it, ordering the police to carry out investigations based on it.
Azmil agreed.
While the magistrate decided that the court would keep the mystery letter for the record, it will not mark it for now.
Gobind, representing Teoh’s family, later told reporters that “it would not be wise” to jump to conclusions at this stage “without proper investigations”.
“It is still too early to set aside the contents of the letter,” the goateed lawyer explained.
Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, acting for the Attorney General’s Chambers in aiding the inquest, had earlier recounted the police investigating officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal’s probe results.
The cop had been ordered by the magistrate on Aug 18 to immediately check into the letter’s many claims, including one accusing the Selangor MACC deputy director of having his DNA sample taken behind closed doors for testing to match the DNA profiles of two unknown men, which were found on Teoh’s clothes, raising public suspicion of possible foul play involved in Teoh’s death.
Tan added that a fresh swab test had been carried out by government DNA expert, Dr Seah Lay Hong, on the deputy director’s DNA sample on Aug 20 in the presence of a Malaysian Bar Council lawyer.
The results showed no match between the deputy director’s DNA profile and that of “Male 1” or the other unknown male person.
The letter, dated Aug 5 which Tan told the court today was from people claiming to be “MACC officers”, made four other claims directly related to Teoh's inquest.
Allegation 1 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director had instructed MACC officers involved in the operation not to to involve him in the case;
Allegation 2 – That the MACC officer in question had a certain “interrogation technique”;
Allegation 3 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director had ordered his subordinates to wipe clean fingerprint traces from a window believed to be where Teoh had plunged to his death;
Allegation 4 – That the Selangor MACC deputy director did not punch out his card on July 16, the day Teoh died.
Tan also told the court the cops had checked by recording statements from “relevant witnesses” and found no proof to back them up, except one — that the Selangor MACC deputy director, Hishamuddin Hashim, had failed to clock out.
“He did not punch out,” Tan said, but added that closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras had captured the senior officer leaving the building.
The lawyer also told the magistrate he could ask the man himself why he did not punch out when he was called to the witness stand.
Tan said eight to 10 MACC officers would be called to testify in the next few days.
Teoh Lee Lan, Beng Hock’s younger sister beseeched the public to look into the matter and help them in the ongoing investigations.
“We wish to appeal to anyone who has information about how Beng Hock had died to come forward and pass the information to our lawyer, YB Gobind Singh Deo,” the 28-year-old pleaded.
“Beng Hock’s death was most painful to us. Equally painful is the fact that the cause of his death is still not known. Every single day since July 16 has been a very tormenting day for each and every one in our family,” she added.
The Teoh family — father Hwee Leong, mother Teng Shuw Hoi, elder brother Meng Kee and Lee Lan — were present in court today with former DAP secretary general Kerk Kim Hock, a distant relative, when MACC investigating officer returned to the witness stand.
Teoh’s mother, who sat on the front row in the public gallery, held up a framed portrait of her son towards Mohd Anuar Ismail’s direction when he took the oath, but made no other gesture for the rest of the hearing.
The inquest continues tomorrow morning with Gobind leading the cross-examination of the soft-spoken Mohd Anuar.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Khir Toyo denies allegations in mystery letter - Malaysian Insider
By Neville Spykerman
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 – Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has denied allegations contained in a mystery letter purportedly written by unnamed MACC officers that implicates him in a conspiracy with a senior anti-graft officer to bring down the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government.
“The allegations are not true,” the former Selangor mentri besar told The Malaysian Insider from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when told about the letter. “I do not know this MACC officer.”
He added that he was not aware of the letter but would take legal action against any website for publishing it.
The letter was delivered two days ago to Gobind Singh Deo, the lawyer for Teoh Beng Hock’s family, and was sent by anonymous parties claiming to be “MACC officers” who urged the authorities to probe a senior anti-graft officer for corruption and involvement in the DAP political aide’s death.
The letter, written in Bahasa Malaysia on an MACC letterhead, appears to give lawyers for the family ammunition and a roadmap to investigate Teoh's death.
A senior official of the MACC was named as someone who was personally involved in questioning Teoh in the final hours before he died.
An account of what happened during questioning was also suggested.
The letter accuses the senior official of widespread corruption involving previous investigations.
It also accuses the senior officer of acting on the instruction of Dr Mohd Khir from the time he was the Selangor mentri besar to initiate investigations into possible corruption involving the current government.
In the letter, a number of previous investigations purportedly involving Dr Mohd Khir’s administration are listed, and the senior officer was said to have covered up those cases.
Yesterday, magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner in the inquest into Teoh’s death, ordered the police investigating officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal, to immediately look into the contents of the letter and check all its claims.
Azmil also told the lawyers involved not to disclose the details of the letter to anyone but did not issue a “gag order” as requested by Tan Hock Chuan, the lawyer heading the Attorney-General's team and assisting him in the inquest.
Tan asked for the “gag” to prevent putting the police follow-up at risk, as several notable people are said to be named in the controversial letter.
But Gobind, who is representing Teoh's family, said a gag would not necessarily prevent the details from leaking out.
Gobind said the letter was handed directly to him late Tuesday afternoon, just as he was leaving the court here.
The envelope it came in was not addressed to him, he said. He refused to say who it was directed to.
Details at: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25886/84/
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 – Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has denied allegations contained in a mystery letter purportedly written by unnamed MACC officers that implicates him in a conspiracy with a senior anti-graft officer to bring down the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government.“The allegations are not true,” the former Selangor mentri besar told The Malaysian Insider from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when told about the letter. “I do not know this MACC officer.”
He added that he was not aware of the letter but would take legal action against any website for publishing it.
The letter was delivered two days ago to Gobind Singh Deo, the lawyer for Teoh Beng Hock’s family, and was sent by anonymous parties claiming to be “MACC officers” who urged the authorities to probe a senior anti-graft officer for corruption and involvement in the DAP political aide’s death.
The letter, written in Bahasa Malaysia on an MACC letterhead, appears to give lawyers for the family ammunition and a roadmap to investigate Teoh's death.
A senior official of the MACC was named as someone who was personally involved in questioning Teoh in the final hours before he died.
An account of what happened during questioning was also suggested.
The letter accuses the senior official of widespread corruption involving previous investigations.
It also accuses the senior officer of acting on the instruction of Dr Mohd Khir from the time he was the Selangor mentri besar to initiate investigations into possible corruption involving the current government.
In the letter, a number of previous investigations purportedly involving Dr Mohd Khir’s administration are listed, and the senior officer was said to have covered up those cases.
Yesterday, magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner in the inquest into Teoh’s death, ordered the police investigating officer, ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal, to immediately look into the contents of the letter and check all its claims.
Azmil also told the lawyers involved not to disclose the details of the letter to anyone but did not issue a “gag order” as requested by Tan Hock Chuan, the lawyer heading the Attorney-General's team and assisting him in the inquest.
Tan asked for the “gag” to prevent putting the police follow-up at risk, as several notable people are said to be named in the controversial letter.
But Gobind, who is representing Teoh's family, said a gag would not necessarily prevent the details from leaking out.
Gobind said the letter was handed directly to him late Tuesday afternoon, just as he was leaving the court here.
The envelope it came in was not addressed to him, he said. He refused to say who it was directed to.
Details at: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25886/84/
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