‘No need for MACC to file police report’
By Tarani Palani. Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer said the commission had not made any police report after Teoh Beng Hock’s death because it was not necessary since the police were already investigating the matter.
Former MACC Selangor Deputy Director Hishamuddin Hashim said this when testifying before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate Teoh’s death.
“I was willing to cooperate with the police, to give my statement…What is the point in making a police report 10, 40 times? One report is enough for the police (to start their investigation),” he said when pressed on the matter.
Commissioner T Selventhiranathan had asked if it did not occur to Hishamuddin that it was urgent to make a police report considering Teoh had died under MACC’s watch.
Hishamuddin refuted that Teoh was under MACC’s watch as the former political aide was informed at 3.30am that he was free to go since his statement had been recorded.
Selventhiranathan: But (Mohd) Nazri (Ibrahim) knew that he was resting there. (Nazri was the MACC officer who recorded Teoh’s statement)
Hishamuddin: Only to rest for a while.
Selventhiranathan: (But it is) logic. Nazri knew he was resting, his body was found near the building. He was found that way. Put two and two, you get four…Teoh was in MACC’s care.
Selventhiranathan opined that there was an urgency as Teoh “masuk sihat, keluar mayat” ( arrived healthy but left as a corpse).
Hishamuddin replied that when he was informed by investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail that the police report was not made, he had instructed him to go back the next day to do so but that was not done.
He added that there was already a report made by a member of the public and the police had started investigating.
Recalled to brief boss
A defensive Hishamuddin said that the body was not found in the MACC office but rather in the compound of the building and repeated that Teoh was allowed to go home.
