Apology insincere because no action has been taken against the officers involved.
The family of the late Teoh Beng Hock has rejected the recent apology by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, citing the lack of accountability for Teoh’s death 16 years ago.
According to The Star, Teoh’s younger sister, Teoh Lee Lan, 45, said the apology lacked sincerity as no MACC officer had been held responsible.
“They said they are apologising because they see our pain, but they are not surrendering the five officers we believe were involved,” she said at a press conference last night.
“Their offer of a financial contribution is also shameful — we do not want money, we want the truth,” she added.
Lee Lan also criticised Azam’s remarks, saying they suggested a human life could be compensated with money.
Azam issued the apology yesterday to Teoh’s family. Teoh had died in 2009 at the MACC’s Selangor office. Azam said the MACC acknowledged the findings of earlier investigations, including a recent police probe which led to no further action.
He expressed sympathy for the family’s long-standing suffering and said the MACC was prepared to offer a goodwill contribution towards the welfare and education of Teoh’s child, without disclosing the amount.
Azam added that the MACC was implementing reforms, although the most recent investigation had found insufficient evidence to charge any suspects.
At the same press conference, Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) chairperson Ng Yap Hwa said: “We’re very frustrated… does the MACC and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government truly believe that money is everything, and that lives can be treated lightly while denying human rights, the rule of law, and court decisions?”
“Wanted posters” of the five MACC officers implicated in Teoh’s death were displayed during the event. Each poster carried a RM660,000 “goodwill donation” — symbolising the RM660,000 compensation and legal costs paid by the government to Teoh’s family in 2015.
The officers implicated at the time were Selangor MACC deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim, investigating officer Mohamad Anuar Ismail, and officers Hairul Ilham Hamzah, Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus, and Zulkefly Aziz.