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Teoh Beng Hock’s death — Open Verdict

Twitter updates from @limkitsiang

01/05/2011 01:08 PM
Will justice be served? Teoh Beng Hock inquest decision at Shah Alam Court @ 2.30 pm. Will b there 2 await verdict?

01/05/2011 02:48 PM
TBH inquest – ShamAlam court fully crammed awaiting verdict while outside large crowd who cannot find places. Its 18long mnths since tragedy

01/05/2011 02:57 PM
In court Karpal Gobind Malik TeresaKok TanKokWai TeoNieChing LimLipEng AuYongHW EliWong Xavier TBH fmly members Sgor MB Khalid otw

01/05/2011 03:06 PM
Court sits – TBH inquest begins

01/05/2011 03:10 PM
Coroner thanks counsel from all parties for assistance in the TBH inquest

01/05/2011 03:12 PM
Coroner starts reading his verdict

01/05/2011 03:14 PM
Dealing with the law on inquests

01/05/2011 03:20 PM
Now on undisputed facts of the case

01/05/2011 03:29 PM
Likely time of TBH death on July 16,2009 – between 715am to 1115am

01/05/2011 03:34 PM
Two theories of cause of death advanced – death by homicide n death by suicide

01/05/2011 03:40 PM
Discussed theory of death by suicide – issue of “suicide note”. Concluded – coroner said he is not qualified to say it is suicide note.

01/05/2011 03:38 PM
Coroner ruled out verdict of TBH death by suicide

01/05/2011 03:51 PM
death by homicide – ruled out.. Coroner returned Open Verdict

01/05/2011 04:41 PM
TBH Open verdict vindicated original demand 4Royal Commission Inquiry into all aspects of MACC death esp inquest finding of pre-fall injury

01/05/2011 04:43 PM
2prong response 2TBH death verdict – call 2Najib 2honour undertaking 2family 4RCI if not satisfied w inquest n apply 2High Court 4revision

53 Replies to “Teoh Beng Hock’s death — Open Verdict”

  3. Open verdict means to a lay person anybody is free to believe what he wants, I suppose. So, the inquest fails to establish MACC is responsible for TBH’s death, but the people know and believe that like Pornthip said it was homicide. MACC covered up for its staff, since who else could have caused his death.

  4. ///2prong response 2TBH death verdict – call 2Najib 2honour undertaking 2family 4RCI if not satisfied w inquest n apply 2High Court 4revision///

    Ya, a Royal Commission Inquiry has to be set up to return justice to Teoh Beng Hock’s family.

  6. I have never heard of an “open verdict” until now.
    But I have the feeling it will be a verdict that will favor the Govt….and this is it.
    I wish I can copy some of the witty comments from Malaysiakini ……all sick of the double talks experts…Najib.
    One quoted “Yes Minister” style talking by the judge.
    Another responded to Nazri’s comment to ask Teoh’ family to have an open heart for the verdict…he said he wished it was Nazri’s son and lets see he has an open heart to the verdict.
    To Teoh’s family….what can all Malaysians do except to do what is right.. with our votes.

  7. What is this CORONER trying to say? On the one hand he ruled out suicide, on the other he also ruled out homicide! Then don’t tell me TBH died suddenly and his body just flew out of the window by itself?

  10. The sixth of the Ten Commandments reads:
    “THOU SHALL NOT KILL.”
    This includes those in ‘complicity to murder’.

    To Teoh’s family, there is comfort in the knowledge that the coming Judgement Day will reveal the murderers and those in complicity to murder. There will be no escape, no corrupt man-made judgement, no delay of justice.

  14. What the coroner is saying is that the findings were inconclusive, life goes on even though one person is dead. I think we have made our point, and we should focus on other priorities like getting proper separation of powers for the future of our grandchildren. The only way to achieve this would be to get rid of this corrupt and incompetent regime.

  15. TBH suicide ruled out.
    TBH homicide ruled out.

    Hello, coroner, you mean TBH went for a walk with God and never came back!!!

    I am not convinced TBH’s death is not homicide!!! Royal Commission of inquiry needed to establish facts that coroner could not because of the terms of reference.

    Listen, if TBH’s death is not homicide, then Anwar’s black-eye was a patch of ink; and Anwar was a part-time Bollywood actor.

  17. This is the result when people still favour BN especially those rich china man,indians and also malays.Your wealth can’t buy back your lost loved one.I hope justice will be given to Teoh and family.

  19. “Inconclusive” ….. ”lack of evidence” ….. ”not proven reasonable doubt” …… TAMAT ( FILEM NEGARA MALAYSIA )

    When judges are under the control of UMNOB, and when they hear cases involving UMNOB they have only 2 choices: 1) Rule in favour of UMNOB 2) Early retirement. If they choose the first, they need only to parrot their political masters saying ” Bukti tidak conkekrit”

    Any taxidriver can also be a judge lol. Just learn to say ”Bukti tidak conkekrit”

  20. I personally believe that, judging from the circumstances of TBH’s death, it was caused by foul play though I’m not sure of the nature of foul play and whether it tantamount, in technical sense, to a homicide

    The inconclusive open verdict was only expected. Many would think the Coroner dared not implicate MACC or upset the Powers-that-be. That may well be a factor.

    However to be fair to Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, his hands are tied even if he has his suspicions. This is because he was presiding a court inquest and not a court trial. There is a big difference. A trial focuses on guilt. The prosecutor accuses and the accused defends. The outcome depends on weighing probabilities of whether guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. An inquest, on the other hand, is an inquisitorial process; its focus is to nquire what facts it could establish reasonably conclusively. On this, the Coroner did establish quite conclusively the facts of when and where TBH died. He could not establish conclusively that any one in MACC was responsible for his death. That is only expected because neither police nor MACC had conducted an investigation along the direction that someone in MACC was responsible to provide the Coroner the necessary evidence to implicate based on conclusive facts than just acting on mere reasonable suspicion. This is borne out by TBH’s family’s counsel Gobind Deo’s statement that “the standard of investigation was far from satisfactory in many aspects” when he questioned the MACC Commission (MACC) on the findings by Azmil on pre-fall injuries, and urged the police to relook their reports…

    If TBH’s family were to be not denied justice, the first course right at the beginning ought to have been a thorough police investigation in the way and direction of MACC having dominion and custody of TBH, to see if any one there was responsible for foul play. It was forensics of autopsy/postmortem that brought to light TBH’s pre-fall injuries like contusion to the neck, injury to thigh and anus and blow on the head. It was not brought to light by police investigations. Instead they came out with a “sudden death” excuse, which under the Criminal Procedure Code requires an Inquest with all its inherent limitations of not being able, like in a trial, to draw the proper and reasonable inferences unless there’s conclusive facts backing the conclusion.

    Now don’t just say this is Malaysia’s kind of inquest. Even in other places, like a case of an Inquest in India where the Coroner there discovered that some foul play was involved in the death of the person, yet he felt bound to return an open verdict when there were insufficient facts presented before him to conclusively identify the particular culprit who did the killing!

  23. Continuing: In a way, I think Azmil is Ok and his open verdict is really not as bad as to dash all hopes for justice to be pursued through other means ie either the police re-opening and doing a more thorough investigation, the second time around, or the government institutes a royal commission (“RCI”) by reason of the Coroner open verdict not being able to conclude anything!

    We may not be satisfied with Azmil’s conclusion and open verdict but surely we cannot fault or condemn him for certain of his findings that open the way to other avenues of investigations whether police or RCI.

    I cite first the example of suicide. Now the authorities and powers-that-be were lobbying for that verdict – because such a verdict will exonerate MACC entirely – which Azmil, to his credit, never gave them notwithstanding the suicide notes and MACC’s prosecutor’s dramatic demonstration of self strangulation.….

    The second crucial finding by Azmil is pre-fall injuries. MACC’s lawyer Dr Vanezis was adamant that the injuries especially to TBH’s neck area was caused been caused when Teoh hit the ground, and not before he fell. Dr Porntip disagreed. She said the neck was a protected area, unlike the face and chest, and therefore the injury was not caused by the fall but sustained before it.

    Here Azmil’s agreement with Porntip’s findings of pre-fall injuries is significant, even though, to the chagrin of many, he drew a conclusion of no homicide from that finding of pre-fall injuries.

    In his words, “I also find that there is no evidence to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that this pre-fall injury did in fact facilitate, result or contribute to the demise of Teoh.” In short, his conclusion of no homicide was due to no evidence (beyond a reasonable doubt) being presented to him that these injuries led to death!

    Whilst his conclusion of “no suicide” is helping TBH’s family cause against MACC’s, his conclusion of “no homicide” based on lack of evidence that pre-fall injuries caused his death does not necessarily equalize the game to favour MACC and the reason is this:-

    All along no one who suspects foul play has ever based their suspicion on the fact or leveled accusation that the cause of TBH’s death was necessarily due to pre-fall injuries to his neck, thigh, head or anus! So what Azmil said is really out of point.

    The findings of pre-fall injuries on TBH where none was suggested before when he first went into MACC’s office or interrogation suggests that they were inflicted on him whilst he was under their dominion and control! That’s enough to implicate those who have dominion and control over him because if the pre-fall injuries could not be proven to have caused his death directly, it is reasonable to infer that their infliction on him in the course of interrogation or after have somewhat led to his death for which they are to be blamed.

  24. Not unexpected at all. It is just a cowardly verdict from a country and society that has lost all its morals and integrity for some self serving ends of those in power.

    It is typical BN modus operandi for such controversial cases. To borrow a phrase from the Home Minister, the entire charade was conducted to desensitize the public in order to shield the MACC from being charged with wrongdoing.

  26. There are three permutations of how he died (1) Suicide (2) Homicide and (3) Azmil’s theory of “accidental death”

    On (3) The Sun reported that Azmil “ruled out suicide and homicide even though he raised doubts that Teoh could have exited unaided from the window on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam before falling to his death following overnight interrogation by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.” What does this imply to any reasonable man ???? Why would TBH climbed out on his own through the narrow aperture of the window on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam and accidentally fall to his death??? Surely he could not be going out there on his own to enjoy the sunrise and the view in the morning of Shah Alam!

    This means he was either pushed out there or he clambered out there on his own in order to only escape his attackers who had inflicted the pre-fall injuries unto him – in either scenario of which MACC cannot escape accountability.

    It also means that if Azmil’s open verdict were inconclusive, his findings of (i) no suicide and (ii) existence of pre-fall injuries however means that the circumstances surrounding his death are sufficiently extraordinary to justify and require the re-opening of a more thorough investigations of this case, whether by the police or the RCI or both, in line with what the PM promised TBH’s family about doing justice by ferreting out the truth of these circumstances….

    Azmil’s verdict is more a start than end of hope for justice in this sense. It would have been the “end” if he had otherwise ruled, as what government prosecutors and doctors would desire him to find, that the injuries to TBH’s neck as caused, as what MACC’s expert witness Dr Vanezis opined, by the fall itself and not ”pre-fall” or that TBH had likely committed suicide! What is there to stop him from so ruling???

    I said Azmil was Ok because he wasn’t going out of the way to please the official or one minister’s theory of suicide when he found not a scintilla of evidence suggesting it, and that if he were to otherwise unconscionably do so, it would represent a grave injustice to the TBH’s family! An open verdict is what he could most and farthest deliver, given the limiting nature of such an inquest and the political pressures prevailing. An open verdict is no bar to further investigations.

    Azmil, by his findings, was not exactly opening the door wide but leaving it sufficiently ajar for TBH’s family and supporters to have just sufficient lee way to use the non-conclusiveness of his open verdict together with the implications of his findings to lobby the government and authorities for a more thorough investigation of the death, that so far has eluded them and the Malaysian public seeking accountability.

  27. “But the programmes (NEP) have also created a culture of entitlement, and they have resulted in institutionalised leakages that permeate practically every aspect of Malaysian commercial, social, political and educational life.”
    “The programmes to advance bumiputeras have benefited the politically well-connected among Malays, through preferential contracts, share allocations and general commercial advancement. All too little has trickled down to the general community. The programmes can hardly be justified as anti-poverty programmes when their principal beneficiaries are already wealthy.”
    “Malaysia’s disastrous national car programme”

    By Hal Hill http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/newscommentaries/37191-malaysias-journey-to-attain-developed-status

  30. ///The findings of pre-fall injuries on TBH where none was suggested before when he first went into MACC’s office or interrogation suggests that they were inflicted on him whilst he was under their dominion and control! That’s enough to implicate those who have dominion and control over him because if the pre-fall injuries could not be proven to have caused his death directly, it is reasonable to infer that their infliction on him in the course of interrogation or after have somewhat led to his death for which they are to be blamed.///–Jeffrey

    Thanks for the analysis. When suicide has been ruled out, then TBH did not kill himself, and neither did he inflict injuries to himself. So, the injuries to TBH indicated that MACC personnel acted beyond asking questions and they applied brute force to hurt TBH. While the injuries were not enough to kill TBH, serious injuries on TBH body might have prompted those who caused him hurts to divert attention to the injuries and made him looked like having committed suicide. They must have arranged for his fall. Thus homicide was a way out when TBH had been hurt. Had TBH survived and made a police report that he was injured while in MACC custody the police should have carried out investigation, if the police acts professionally to meet its obligation. Now that the inquest has concluded that TBH suffered torture before he died, and those who tortured him are most probably also the murderers, cannot the police begin its investigation now that TBH is known to be dead?

    TBH’s death should be a police case, and anyone who interrogated TBH in MACC are naturally suspect.

  32. The day the word inquest was mentioned we all know it comes with the open verdict, it was a case of the end justifies the means. The lawyers have done a great job for they have won in the court of public opinion. I think Teoh Beng Hock can now rest in peace.

  33. dawsheng :The day the word inquest was mentioned we all know it comes with the open verdict, it was a case of the end justifies the means. The lawyers have done a great job for they have won in the court of public opinion. I think Teoh Beng Hock can now rest in peace.

    Teoh can rest in peace once all the MACC interrogators and those who abetted them are brought to court and convicted.
    The journey is still long and arduous but I suppose once PR government gets to Putrajaya, the new government can reopen the case.

  35. How bad d situation is? What kind of cesshole of corruption n human indecency r we in?
    Just read Mat Zain bin Ibrahim’s Open Appeal 2 Solicitor-General n any fool would know dat d TRUTH WILL NOT b exposed n there WILL NOT b justice under UmnoB/BN
    Fabrication YES, truth NO

  36. He bounced from his seat suddenly. And like a ping pong ball he struck the ceiling, ricocheted to the wall and then the floor and finally out of the window; and down to the carpark below where he was later found dead.

    Not suicide.
    Not homicide.

  37. The Open Verdict basically means that the Inquest has no answer (based on concrete evidence before it) as to how TBH died, and who was responsible for it. The fact that suicide was ruled out, and pre-fall injuries accepted as inflicted while he was under control and dominion of MACC shifts the onus of responsibility to MACC to answer why and how it happened.

    The inquest has not brought closure to the issue.

    PM Najib has promised TBH’s family to leav no stones unturned.

    The inquest has however left many stones unturned, eg: if there were pre-fall injuries, how were they caused and who caused them and their connection to TBH’s death

    Bar Council’s president Ragunath said TBH’s family could file a civil suit. They always have that right whether or not there was an inquest, and its verdict whichever way notwithstanding.

    But a successful civil suit results in financial liability of the wrong doer but not punishment and though financial compensation can ameliorate some pain, it however does not do justice to the victim by punishing the guilty for wrong doing.

    There cannot be closure to TBH’s family unless the person(s) directly or indirectly responsible for his death are brought to account and face justice of our criminal law system.

    From TBH’s family point of view, it is incumbent upon the government to re-open police investigations, this time around carried out professionally to ascertain the basic question of whodunnit.

    From public interest point of view a Royal Commission of Enquiry is needed.

    The public will want to know about how MACC interrogates and why initial police and government doctors investigations have not highlighted the pre-fall injuries sustained by TBH.

    The purpose of such an enquiry is quell public concern of whether law enforcement agencies of the state can abuse power and ride rough shod over ordinary citizens with impunity to the point of causing death and, with the government doctors in complicity, endeavoured to cover up.

    If these agencies and government employees vested with power could ala esprit de corp forge a protective ring and circle around every wrong doing implicating their own, and its exposure, it will undermine the very foundation of institutions and public confidence in how the system, as administered by government of the day, works.

    This

  38. Inquest decision at Shah Alam Court on the sudden deaths of Abraham Lincoln, King Louis XI, King Charles I, John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Adolf Hitler, Benigno Aquino, Altantuya, Kugan, Amirulrashid, ect—-

    ALL OPEN verdicts.
    Not suicide.
    Not homicide.
    Only Insecticide.

  41. It’s not suicide and it’s not homicide? Then technically speaking TBH is alive! Could this coroner then “technically” return a child, brother, husband and father to the Teoh family please (alive of course)! And what may I ask is contained in the casket at Nirvana’s burial ground laid to rest at TBH’s tomb?

  42. The Coroner ruled out suicide but as far as homicide goes, he said that was no evidence presented before him to prove homicide. Which is correct because the police’s investigations have not as yet produced anything to support that homicide conclusion.

    This does not mean that it was not a case of homicide if investigations had been thorough. The circumstances surrounding TBH’s death reasonably justify such suspicions of foul play.

    The Coroner not only found evidence of pre-fall injuries but he also said that:

    · “there was unchallenged evidence of scratch marks on the sole of the deceased (TBH)’s shoe which were consistent with Teoh being in a siting position on the window ledge , and

    · “the consequences of such (pre-fall) injury raised serious doubts as to the capability of Teoh getting out of the window unassisted, both physically and mentally” – (reference New Straits Times report 6th Jan pg 2 of Prime News).

    What does this suggest? Certainly Teoh did not on his own clamber to the ledge to watch the sunrise over Shah Alam and in that process had an accidental fall!

    The question is “who put him on that ledge that resulted in his fall”? That guy is the one, perhaps with collaborators, who killed him.

    There is, according to Coroner, incontrovertible evidence that he died from the fall from height between 7.15 am and 11.15 am on July 16th 2009.

    There is also no challenge from TBH’s side or any quarters to MACC’s representation that official interrogation ended much earlier at 3.30 am.

    If TBH had fallen to his death before end of interrogation at 3 am then there might have been a basis to suspect MACC’s officials inadvertently killed him in the course of interrogation using 3rd degree methods. The fact that he was seen well at 6 am and died later between 7.15 am and 11.15 am negates this prospect. Besides MACC has no official cause to do TBH’s harm. He was needed a live to testify and bring down Pakatan Rakat’s state assemblymen to bring down PR state Government.

    Therefore the harm done to TBH at the time of death (7.15 am and 11.15 am) way after interrogation implies the likelihood of person or persons inside MACC precincts outside MACC’s official policy, whose private and unofficial agenda it was, to deliberately harm, if not kill TBH. It is a likely case of homicide. That it occurred within MACC’s precincts that provided the opportunity for such a crime to be perpetrated of course makes MACC culpable and failing it its duty to offer protection to those under its dominion and control. It does not however shed light who did this dastardly criminal act who is also in the powerful position to thwart rigorous investigation by either MACC or the police. For this reason, Govt must launch an investigation.

  43. //Govt must launch an investigation.///

    will the criminal, murderer and liar launch an investigation? it will be more of a cover-up-tigation than anything else.

    let the next govt do the investigation. then we will see those dogs digantung sampai mati.

  45. Thank you “con-roner” for helping the opposition to garner even more votes in the coming GE

    … and making it more easy PR to bury BN/UMNO

    People are angry … very very angry indeed …

  46. One minute silence for a national black day.
    .
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    .

    Yeah. Actualy, he was quite clear about it from the begining. “Rakyat diutamakan.” He declared. He didnt say anything about “Mayat diutamakan.” did he? So there. He has done all he can. And he need do no more.

    If he had not opened his big mouth subsequently that would have been a perfect answer to shut us out.

    But idiot. He promised teoh’s family and the country to leave no stones unturned. In short he wanted to get the bottom of the issue – to find out the real cause of teoh’s death. After 18mths of wayang the truth he managed to uncovered is taaadadaa – “an open verdict”!

    Bad show. Bad acting. Bad script. Bad plot. Bad ending. Only umno is entertained. The nation is crying. Yes. Crying for teoh, his young wife and baby and his family.

  48. tbh would sing:

    dont cry for me malaysia
    the truth is i was tortured till death
    all thru the late morning
    my mad existence
    i kept my integrity
    don’t keep your hypocrisy

    And as for power, and as for corruption
    I never invited them in
    Though it seemed to umno they were all they desired

    They are illusions
    They are not the solutions they promised to be
    The answer was here all the time
    I love you and hope you find justice for me

    Don’t cry for me Ma-lay-sia

  49. ..and this is for the witness to an alleged mere MR2400 for buying flags as opposed to millions of mansion and millions incurred to throw a party to wives of world leaders? This gomen sucks and is truly sickening … No one is accountable ???? What an inquest! Speechless!

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