Warrant not necessary to seize Teoh’s documents, says MACC No. 2
By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — A senior anti-graft officer today dismissed the need to get a warrant before searching Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah’s office in 2009, the royal commission of inquiry investigating Teoh Beng Hock’s death heard today.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull said the MACC usually did not show warrants before seizing documents as it was perceived to be “rough”.
“In most cases, in government agencies, they prefer MACC to ask without warrants,” said Shukri at the inquiry today.
“If we give warrants, the action looks rough. So in that case, the agencies just ask us to come up with a letter… to give documents. In Teoh Beng Hock’s case, we went to see Teoh Beng Hock without any warrant because there was no necessity to give a warrant,” he added.
Shukri was the MACC investigations director in 2009.
Teoh’s body was found on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after he was questioned overnight by MACC officers at their then-Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor.
The anti-graft officers were investigating a claim that Teoh’s boss Ean Yong was abusing state funds.
