Sarbani, Teoh deaths different, says IGP
By The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the deaths of Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed and Teoh Beng Hock should not be equated to each other simply because both were found dead in Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) premises.
“The facts of the two cases are different. We can’t conclude that something has gone wrong,” he told reporters today.
Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed was found dead at the MACC office in Jalan Cochrane here yesterday morning.
With a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) still looking into the death of former DAP aide Teoh who plunged to his death from the Selangor MACC office in Shah Alam nearly two years ago, the anti-graft body’s claim of innocence in the matter has been damaged by Ahmad Sarbani’s death.
Ismail (picture) also said the case should be allowed to proceed according to established procedures.
“Let the investigation, prosecution and trial process proceed. We respect the judiciary system in our country and eventually the truth will be known,” he said.
“The autopsy went smoothly. I can’t reveal the result. The investigation was done at the scene and witnesses were also questioned,” he added.
Ahmad Sarbani’s body was finally released from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia this evening after 4pm and was later buried at the Kota Damansara Muslim cemetery.
MACC investigations director Datuk Mustafar Ali told reporters yesterday that Ahmad Sarbani returned to the MACC building at 8.26am without an appointment and had requested to meet with the investigation officer.
Ahmad Sarbani had already given his statement to MACC and was released from custody at 12.30pm on Saturday.
He had been remanded on March 29 following an MACC-led swoop on a Customs syndicate that it said was worth billions in unpaid taxes, resulting in the arrest of 62 officers.
The chief investigator said an officer then accompanied the Customs officer to a room in the office before leaving to collect the case file but found him missing when he returned.
