LETTER | Teoh Beng Hock' death - delay in justice is injustice

LETTER | Twelve years have passed since Teoh Beng Hock's demise at the hands of the MACC at Plaza Masalam and yet no one is prosecuted and punished accordingly for causing his death.

The previous investigations failed to uphold the rule of law when the police and the Attorney-General's Chambers (AG) blatantly dismissed the decisive pre-fall injury on Beng Hock's neck that signified the criminal element of the incident. The pre-fall injury was the main reason that led to the ruling of the Court of Appeal that one or more unknown persons caused the death of Beng Hock.

The Teoh family and the public have been waiting for justice to come by throughout the reigns of BN, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional. Since the case has been reopened for investigation in July 2018, we have been calling the authorities to classify the case as murder or culpable homicide. Our calls on the police, the AG and the Ministry of Home Affairs to reveal the investigation results have fallen on deaf ears for almost three years.

Delay in justice itself is a huge injustice to the victim's families and society. We call on the government to delay no more and every effort must be made to track down the perpetrators in a thorough police investigation.

No one should be spared in the investigations so that there will be no allegations of a cover-up. The investigation result should be made public immediately and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Therefore, in conjunction with the 12th anniversary of the passing of the late Teoh Beng Hock, the Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy will organise several activities to commemorate the tragic incident and continue to remind the government and the public that the delay in justice is injustice itself.

• 'Rights of the Dead' film screening and public forum

Date : July 2, 2021, Friday

Time : 8:00 pm via Zoom

Registration

Panel of speakers: Tricia Yeoh, the film's director, was a former colleague of Teoh Beng Hock in the Selangor government. She is a public policy researcher and PhD candidate.

Edmund Bon, former Malaysia representative to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), member of the Bar Council’s watching brief team at the royal commission of inquiry on Teoh Beng Hock

Rama Ramanathan, blogger and spokesperson for Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (Caged)

• Memorial ceremony for Teoh Beng Hock and public forum 'Delay in justice is Injustice'.

Date: July 16, 2021, Friday

Masa : 8:00pm – 8:30pm (Memorial)

8:30pm – 10:30pm (Forum) via Zoom

Registration

Forum moderator: Ng Yap Hwa, chairperson, Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy,

Teoh Lee Lan, Teoh Beng Hock' sister, vice-chairperson Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy

Forum panellists: M Visvanathan, human rights lawyer, chairperson of Eliminating Deaths And Abuse In Custody Together (Edict).

Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, professor of architecture, political and social commentator

Ramkarpal Singh, Teoh family’s lawyer, Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor

Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) president.

The writer is chairperson, Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.