Teoh’s death warrants highest level of priority, says Bar Council (and the rakyat too!)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry established to investigate the circumstances and cause of death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock.
Its president Ragunath Kesavan said the testimony of renowned Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand in the Teoh inquest on Wednesday raised serious issues that must be addressed.
The royal commission, he added, should not only conduct a review of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) interrogation and investigation techniques as the cause of death and the interrogation techniques were intrinsically inter-linked and cannot be analysed in isolation.
“It is evident now, more than ever, that the scope of the Royal Commission’s investigations must not be limited to reviewing the MACC’s interrogation methods alone as proposed by the Government,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Ragunath added that under the Penal Code, an inquest was restricted in its scope and findings and would be far less effective than a royal commission.
“Teoh’s death is a matter of immense public interest that warrants the highest level of priority. It is indefensible that a witness in a routine investigation should have been deprived of sleep and interrogated for more than eight hours.
“Even more inexcusable and unacceptable is that Teoh was denied access to legal counsel during questioning,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gerakan vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong described Dr Pornthip’s revelation as “very disturbing.”
“The real cause of death must be ascertained and the public must be informed,” he said in a statement.
Mah said the Government must consider Dr Pornthip’s expert opinion seriously and extend the fullest cooperation to her.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said if Teoh’s death was indeed homicide, the culprit or culprits must be brought to justice.
“It’s of paramount importance to restore credibility in both the police and judicial system and those who commit murder must be charged in court,” he told reporters.