A Kajang municipal councillor admitted today he can’t explain why he did not sue the country’s graft busters for allegedly torturing him despite doing so over an after-hours interrogation but said he has lodged a police report on the matter.
Tan Boon Wah told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating Teoh Beng Hock’s death that he had only sued the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for questioning him outside office hours on the night of July 15, 2009.
“I only can say I left it out only; I don’t know why,” said Tan at the inquiry today, when asked why he did not include his torture allegations in his suit.
“Torture, I made a police report,” he added.
Tan claimed that MACC officers had tortured him by forcing him to stand for four hours and threatening him when he was held overnight at the then Selangor MACC headquarters on July 15, 2009.
Teoh’s body was found on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam hours later after he was also questioned overnight by MACC officers at their then Selangor office on the 14th floor.
The anti-graft officers were investigating a claim that Teoh’s boss, Ean Yong Hian Wah, was abusing state funds.
Ean Yong is a Selangor state executive councillor and Seri Kembangan assemblyman from the DAP.
Tan said today that he had engaged Karpal Singh as his lawyer in his suit against the national anti-graft authority in 2009.
“I’m putting it to you the only reason why you and your capable lawyers did not put (your torture allegations) in the affidavit is because it never happened. (The) threat never happened,” said MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
“Your Honour, it happened. Four hours on 15 July 2009, 10pm to the 16th, 2am,” said Tan, who joined the DAP after Teoh’s death.
“All the torture I mentioned yesterday, it happened ... all I said in court it’s true,” he added, heatedly.
Tan told the RCI yesterday that MACC officers had forced him to stand for four hours, mimicked actions that gave the impression he would be hit, and called him “Cina bodoh” (stupid Chinese).
He said, however, that the anti-graft officers did not physically hurt him.
Shafee pointed out that Tan did not sue the police despite questioning taking place outside office hours.
“They didn’t torture me,” said Tan.
“That’s an important point ... you did not sue the police for outside office hours because they didn’t torture you,” replied Shafee.
Shafee said the police had recorded Tan’s statement from 9pm to 11pm on July 20, 2009.
Tan said he lodged a police report against the MACC on July 18, 2009 after he was detained for almost 17 hours at the Selangor MACC office.
The DAP man said he was questioned by the graft busters as a witness in their investigations against Ean Yong.
Tan added that the MACC officers had asked him if he had pocketed the payment for selling 1,500 Malaysian flags to Ean Yong without actually supplying them.
“They only asked me if I took (the) RM2,400 (payment),” said Tan, stressing that he had delivered the flags.
The Kajang municipal councillor won his suit against the MACC at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2009, but the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision.
The Federal Court also dismissed Tan’s appeal and ruled last year that the MACC could continue to interrogate witnesses after office hours.
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Dont forget they are all cronies......nepotism
only those not in the cronies will be prosecuted....
Look at PKFZ now....why so slow ?? Compare to Perak robbering of the state assembly case, they have acted so promptly.....
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