Aggressive Interrogation? How Aggressive?
MASTERWORDSMITH-UNPLUGGED
The Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that political aide Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide due to the aggressive questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials.
“Having considered all the evidence in its entirety, we found that Teoh was driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation to which he was subjected by certain officers of the MACC who were involved in the ongoing operation by the Selangor MACC on the night of the July 15 (2009) into the morning of the 16th,” the report said.
The 124-page report said that Teoh’s frame of mind after hours of interrogation would have been “almost a mental and physical wreck” and the only way out was by “jumping out of the window”.
“By the fourth or final stage of the interrogation was over, TBH would have been almost a mental and physical wreck. When (Selangor MACC officer) Ashraf (Mohd Yunos) fetched him a glass of water, Teoh was said to have sat up very slowly.
“These intense stages of interrogation must have created serious doubts in Teoh’s mind as regards his actions in relation to his duties as (Selangor exco) Ean’s (Yong Hian Wah) political secretary.
“Signing his name but affixing Ean’s seal, the absence of at least three quotations before awarding of a project or programme, the alleged kickbacks to the DAP, the direct awards of projects and fixing prices to goods required for projects also weighed heavily on his mind,” the report stated.
The report stated other contributing factors which caused Teoh to be in an imbalance state of mind were sleep deprivation, an uncomfortable and unfamiliar environment as well as being held in custody for a long time.
