Lawyer presses AGC to explain NFA decision in Teoh Beng Hock case

Malay Mail

22-05-2025

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 — The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has been urged to explain its decision to classify the latest investigation into Teoh Beng Hock's 2009 death as requiring no further action (NFA), a move that has raised concerns from the late political aide's family and their lawyer.
Ramkarpal Singh, who represents the family, said the AGC should clarify whether it had found no evidence of wrongdoing after more than a decade of investigations — despite a 2014 Court of Appeal ruling that identified Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers as potential suspects.
'Is the AGC now stating that there is absolutely no evidence of such unlawful acts from the investigations conducted for the past 16 years? Were the Court of Appeal's findings wrong?' he is reported to have said by Malaysiakini during a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.
He also raised concerns over how the decision was conveyed.
'It is very unusual (as) the AGC's decision to classify the case as NFA was conveyed by a third party and not the AGC itself,' he was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
'Why did the attorney-general himself not come up with an official letter, either to the family's lawyer or to the family themselves, confirming his decision?'
Teoh, then a political aide to a Selangor state executive councillor, was found dead on July 16, 2009 after falling from the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam. He had been questioned overnight by MACC officers.
An inquest into his death returned an open verdict, but in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that the death had resulted from the actions of 'one or more unknown persons,' including MACC officials.
Teoh's sister, Teoh Lee Lan, expressed the family's disappointment with the outcome of the latest police investigation.
'On August 1, 2024, Anwar asked us to trust the 'new police force' and the 'new system' under his leadership. But what has this system given us? Only more disappointment,' she was quoted as saying by FMT in reference to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
She also pointed to the continued use of Section 342 of the Penal Code — which pertains to wrongful confinement — in the investigations, despite the 2014 court ruling.
'Authorities had repeatedly misapplied Section 342 to investigate Beng Hock's death,' she said.
Lee Lan added that several MACC officers involved in the interrogation had not cooperated with police investigations and that no arrests had been made.
'Were the visions of reform that Beng Hock once dreamed of, and the promises of justice the Teoh family believed in, merely pawns in the game of seizing power?' she asked.
'If Malaysia Madani means perpetuating a system of darkness and oppression, what is the point of political change?'
She urged Anwar— who also chairs the Pakatan Harapan coalition — to uphold promises made during the 2018 general election campaign and reopen the path to accountability.
'Beng Hock's elderly parents, Teoh Leong Hwee and Teng Shuw Hoi, cannot endure endless delays. It is time to fulfil the pledge of a New Malaysia and ensure that justice prevails,' she said.
Following Pakatan Harapan's 2018 election victory, the Cabinet agreed to reopen the case and Anwar pledged that investigations would be concluded within two years.
Prior to that, two special investigation teams had been formed in 2011 and 2015 — both classified the case as NFA.
In 2023, the High Court instructed the police to complete their long-delayed investigation. With the case now again marked as NFA, the Teoh family says they are still seeking answers.