Urimai chairman P Ramasamy this evening branded the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s offer of financial assistance to the family of the late Teoh Beng Hock as an insult.
Ramasamy said Teoh’s family was seeking closure, namely the identification and prosecution of those behind the death of the former aide to a Selangor assemblyman.
“The last thing the family needs is financial aid,” he said in a Facebook post.
He said if MACC chief Azam Baki could not genuinely assist by identifying the responsible parties, he should maintain his silence.
Azam should not think that the provision of funds would bring this tragedy to a close, he said.
Earlier today, MACC offered to give a goodwill contribution to Teoh’s family as a “gesture of compassion”.
Azam said the latest investigation found insufficient evidence to charge anyone in Teoh’s death, but maintained that MACC took a serious view of the incident.
He also apologised to the family for the pain and suffering they had endured over the years.
Teoh died on July 16, 2009 at the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned for hours by MACC at its Selangor office in the same building.
An inquest into his death was held and the coroner returned an open verdict. However, the Court of Appeal in 2014 ruled that Teoh’s death was caused by “one or more persons unknown”, including MACC officers.
In 2019, police launched an investigation under Section 342 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement.
Before 2018, two special investigation teams were set up – one in 2011 and the other in 2015 – to look into Teoh’s death, but the outcome of both investigations were classified as “no further action” by the public prosecutor.
In 2015, Putrajaya paid RM600,000 to Teoh’s family, as well as RM60,000 in legal costs, as part of a settlement over a civil suit filed by the family. The family had named the government and 12 others in the suit for negligence over his death.
