GEORGE TOWN: Former Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah spent an hour giving a statement at the Selangor police headquarters today, following the reopening of the case into the death of his ex-aide Teoh Beng Hock.
Ean Yong said that during the police interview, he reiterated what he had said before, and that the police reviewed his earlier statements on Teoh as well.
“I told police that Teoh was a witness, not a suspect of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“By being just a witness, he should not have been treated like a suspect and it was wrong and improper to keep him until midnight,” he told FMT.
“From what I understand, they are looking for new evidence so that those responsible for Teoh’s death can face the music. I am happy that they are reopening the case so that justice can be served.”
Teoh’s sister Lee Lan said the family was happy about the case being reopened but did not want it to be classified as wrongful confinement.
She said that by right, the case should be classified as murder, and asked if police were questioning the five MACC officers who were with Teoh on that fateful day.
Lee Lan listed the five as Hishamuddin Hashim, Mohd Anuar Ismail, Hairul Ilham Hamzah, Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus and Zulkefly Aziz – all Selangor MACC officers.
“Are they being questioned? Why interview outsiders like Ean Yong and other parties who were not present during the interrogation of Teoh?
“We hope our government will not be the same as the previous government, and that the Pakatan Harapan government will keep its promise to fight for justice for my brother and arrest those who killed him,” she told FMT.
Lee Lan said their lawyer Ramkarpal Singh would soon arrange a meeting with the inspector-general of police to convey their concerns.
In 2009, Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, hours after he was interrogated by Selangor MACC in its office on the 14th floor of the same building.
A royal commission of inquiry concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide by the aggressive interrogation methods used by MACC officers.
It also blamed three officers for their aggressive methods which it said had violated procedures.
Last July, it was reported that the police would comply with instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to conduct further investigations into Teoh’s death.