{"id":605,"date":"2009-07-19T17:10:34","date_gmt":"2009-07-19T09:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/index.php\/2009\/07\/bar-council-versus-macc\/"},"modified":"2009-07-19T17:10:34","modified_gmt":"2009-07-19T09:10:34","slug":"bar-council-versus-macc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/bar-council-versus-macc\/","title":{"rendered":"Bar Council Versus MACC"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is What MACC said –\u00a0 No conspiracy behind Teoh’s death<\/font><\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n

2009\/07\/19<\/font><\/p>\n

By Lee Shi-Ian<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

KUALA LUMPUR: Teoh Beng Hock is “worth more to us alive than dead”, according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as he was a key witness in an ongoing case. <\/font><\/p>\n <\/table>\n
<\/table>\n

A senior MACC official said this was because the 30-year-old political aide to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah had not been detained or arrested as he was a crucial witness in the probe which had just opened.<\/p>\n

“He was considered a crucial witness and was assisting the MACC in sorting out files and documents which had been taken from his office.” <\/p>\n

He said it was absurd to allege a conspiracy behind Teoh’s death. <\/p>\n

“First and foremost. Teoh was a witness, not a suspect.”<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n


Teoh is believed to be a key witness in MACC’s investigations into 12 Selangor Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen over alleged misuse of their allocations.
<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/table>\n

“As a witness, he could either produce important evidence or testify in court. Hence, he was worth more alive to the MACC than dead.” <\/p>\n

Teoh was among four called to the Selangor MACC office to assist in investigations.<\/p>\n

The official dismissed allegations of the MACC putting Teoh under pressure because he had driven all the way to the Selangor MACC headquarters in Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.<\/p>\n

“Teoh was not arrested or picked up by MACC officers. He was treated as a witness, not a detainee and as such did not require any escorts nor was he handcuffed.”<\/p>\n

The official added that the circumstances would have been different if Teoh was a suspect as he would not have been left alone. <\/p>\n

He said MACC officers would have accompanied him and that he would have been handcuffed.<\/p>\n

On reasons for Teoh’s death, the official declined to comment, saying investigations were best left to the police. <\/p>\n

“The MACC will be cooperating fully with the police as they investigate Teoh’s death. Everything will be transparent and above board.”<\/p>\n

Teoh’s death on Thursday sparked an outcry with several quarters calling for a full-scale investigation, including the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry.<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

The Bar Council asked – ‘Are there no rules on interrogation?’<\/font><\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n

2009\/07\/19<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar is concerned that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission does not have set procedures in interrogating witnesses and detainees. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/table>\n
<\/table>\n

“There seems to be no protocol for questioning and interrogation methods. Are there no rules for the MACC?” asked its president Ragunath Kesavan yesterday.<\/p>\n

Condemning the death of Teoh Beng Hock while being questioned by the MACC on Thursday, he said yesterday the MACC had no reason to interrogate witnesses overnight.<\/p>\n

“It is indefensible that a witness in a routine investigation should have been deprived of sleep and interrogated for more than eight hours.”<\/p>\n

Quoting the Lock-up Rules 1953, Ragunath pointed out that interrogation cannot be carried out between 6.30pm and 6.30am the next day to allow detainees to rest.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n


“If there was insufficient time to finish questioning Teoh during reasonable hours of the day, he should have been released and asked to return on another day.”
<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/table>\n

Ragunath said there was no risk of Teoh disappearing, especially when he was supposed to register his marriage the next day, adding that Teoh was denied access to a lawyer.<\/p>\n

He said that while the law protected a detainee’s rights, no rules applied to witnesses. <\/p>\n

“Teoh was a witness. The MACC seems to suggest that he was not detained, which meant he was free to go any time.<\/p>\n

“This is not true. We (Malaysian Bar) dispute this fact.”<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/table>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is What MACC said –\u00a0 No conspiracy behind Teoh’s death 2009\/07\/19 By Lee Shi-Ian KUALA LUMPUR: Teoh Beng Hock is “worth more to us alive than dead”, according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as he was a key witness in an ongoing case. A senior MACC official said this was because the 30-year-old political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"better_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}