MACC man now unsure he was last to see Teoh alive
By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — The last man believed to have seen Teoh Beng Hock alive admitted today that he’s uncertain if he had actually seen the DAP aide.
The royal panel investigating Teoh’s death were told of this today.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) senior assistant superintendent Raymond Nion John Timban also confessed that he told the police he saw Teoh at 6am on July 16, 2009, after he discussed the young man’s demise with his superiors.
“When you passed (MACC officer) Nazri (Ibrahim)’s room and you didn’t stop by that figure on the sofa, you weren’t sure that it was Teoh Beng Hock,” said Bar Council lawyer Cheow Wee at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) today.
“Yes,” answered Raymond.
“And if it was Teoh Beng Hock, you weren’t sure if he was sleeping, had fainted, or was dead?” asked Cheow.
“Correct,” answered the senior graftbuster.
Raymond told the RCI last week that he had seen Teoh lying down on a sofa in front of Nazri’s room at the then Selangor MACC headquarters, hours before the political secretary was found dead.
Teoh, 30, was found sprawled on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after he was questioned overnight by MACC officers at their then Selangor office on the 14th floor.
Teoh was the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah at the time of his death.
The anti-graft officers were investigating a claim that his boss was abusing state funds.
Cheow suggested that the MACC had used Raymond to mark the time he last saw Teoh alive before the latter’s mysterious plunge.
“I put it to you that you were the most suitable person as a time marker in this case. You were in the office. You weren’t involved in operations,” said the criminal law specialist.
“No,” answered Raymond, 40.
“The story that you saw Teoh Beng Hock at 6am was after you discussed with other officers and superiors when you came back to the office?” asked Cheow.
“Yes,” said the anti-graft officer with a small, curly ponytail.
“I put it to you that you testified earlier that you saw Teoh Beng Hock at 6am to coordinate with other officers,” said Cheow.
“No,” Raymond answered.
The senior graftbuster, who served the Selangor branch in 2009, also admitted that he had never seen Teoh face to face or talked to him.
“You only saw a black and white picture (of Teoh with MACC investigating officer Mohd Anuar Ismail),” said Cheow.
Raymond agreed and said he only gave a cursory glance when Anuar showed him the picture on the evening of July 15, 2009.
Raymond, who has served the anti-graft body for over a decade, noted that it was dim when he saw a Chinese man lying on the sofa in the MACC office.
“You only saw at a glance someone lying there?” asked Cheow.
“Yes,” replied Raymond.
“From 3.30 till 6am, no one saw Teoh Beng Hock?” asked Cheow.
“No,” Raymond answered.
Nazri testified last month that he had recorded Teoh’s statement at 3.30am on July 16, 2009.
Raymond, now serving at the Sarawak MACC branch, also said today that his former colleagues did not mention seeing Teoh at 6am that day.
“Besides you who saw Teoh Beng Hock, who else said they were the last (to see Teoh)?” asked Cheow.
“No one said they were the last to see,” answered Raymond, who was dressed in a black suit today.
