KUALA LUMPUR - Sixteen years after Teoh Beng Hock’s tragic death while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), his family continues to demand accountability, not apologies or compensation.
At a press conference, here, yesterday, his sister Lee Lan, 45, said the family rejected the apology offered by the anti-graft agency's chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, calling it insincere and offensive, as no officers have been held accountable for her brother’s death.
“MACC’s intention to offer a goodwill contribution to the family, especially to the late Beng Hock’s child as a sign of concern, is a disgraceful act towards our family.
“If he (Azam) believes a life can be bought with money, then hand over the ‘lives’ of the five MACC officers previously named as being responsible for Beng Hock’s death and we will give a goodwill donation back to MACC along with an apology,” she added.
Azam’s statement came on the 16th anniversary of Beng Hock’s death.
Beng Hock, then 30, served as the political secretary to Selangor Exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah when he died on July 16, 2009. His body was found on the fifth-floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after an overnight interrogation by MACC officers.
Azam said MACC was willing to offer a goodwill payment to the family, particularly for the deceased’s child, as a show of sympathy.
But Lee Lan questioned the reasoning behind the gesture, suggesting it implied a human life could be exchanged for money.
Echoing her sentiments, Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement president Ng Yap Hwa, also rejected the apology.
“We also disagree with the goodwill contribution offered by MACC. Instead, we want the individuals responsible for the death to be brought to justice for the sake of his family,” he said.
In 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that Beng Hock’s death resulted from the actions of one or more unidentified individuals while in MACC custody.
Earlier this year, in May, former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed that the investigation papers into Beng Hock’s death had been marked “No Further Action” after the Attorney General’s Chambers reviewed the full report.
This re-investigation was ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in November last year, with a six-month deadline to complete it.