Teoh Beng Hock RCI sets April 25 deadline

By : MalaysiaKini

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock's death in custody is expected to wrap up its inquest and present its report to the Yang diPertuan Agong by April 25 at the latest.



teoh beng hock royal commission first meeting 290111 james foongCommission chairperson James Foong said they will conduct the inquiry from Monday to Friday every week from Feb 14.

"According to our calculations, the inquiry must be completed and the report handed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by April 25. That means, we don't have much time," Foong (left) told a press conference after the commission's first meeting at the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Jalan Duta today.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak recently announced the formation of the RCI, after a public outcry over the findings of the inquest into Teoh's death while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in Shah Alam.

The inquest ruled out both murder and suicide.

NONEThe RCI will focus on two terms of reference: the cause of Teoh's death and whether or not the MACC followed proper procedures when questioning Teoh.

Foong said the panel members at their first meeting went through their terms of reference "section by section", and also discussed the list of witnesses with the conducting officers assigned to the commission.

However, he declined to be specific on the number of witnesses or who would be called, saying that the panel would have a better idea during their next meeting on Feb 9.

"Today is only the fourth day of our appointments, and also the fourth day the conducting officers have been informed of their (assignment)... We don't know (details of the witness list) at this stage," he said.

Foong noted that the conducting officers, led by senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh, would prepare documents on the rules and regulations governing the MACC, and possibly on similar international bodies for reference.

'We don't decide what to investigate'

Asked if the RCI could expand its scope to include other deaths in custody, such as the A Kugan case, Foong pointed out that the commission was not empowered to make such a call.

NONEHe also brushed aside claims by DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang (right) that the terms of reference for the MACC have been diminished in this RCI, saying that they "are not here to agree or disagree with the opinion of any leader of a political party".

"Our task is to go through the terms of reference laid out. You would have to direct those questions to the correct authorities," he said, adding that the panel members were' appointed by the King.

Foong declined to comment on the impact the RCI could have on an on-going application to review the findings of the coroner's inquest into Teoh's death.

He also did not want to touch on the possibility that the panel may face applications for recusal of its members, as had happened in 2008 during the RCI into the VK Lingam tapes.

Foong said the panel "will not speculate" on any of those issues and that they would "deal with it if the matter comes up".

azlanEight people sit on the panel. Besides Foong, the others are retired Federal Court judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, retired Court of Appeal judge T Selventhiranathan, forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh and consultant psychiatrist Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom.

The conducting officers are Amarjeet and deputy public prosecutors Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud and Kwan Li Sa.

The director-general of legal affairs in the Prime Minister's department, Saripuddin Kasim, has been appointed commission