Family of aide who died after anti-graft questioning urges Malaysia to release police files after 16 years

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The family of the late Teoh Beng Hock has renewed its call for the Malaysian government to disclose police investigation papers into his death, 16 years after the incident, saying continued secrecy has denied them justice and accountability.

Teoh, a former political assistant, was found dead on 16 July 2009 at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned overnight by officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Selangor.

At a press conference on 23 December 2025, one of the family’s lawyers, Ramkarpal Singh, said the government had been given one month to respond to the request for disclosure.

Family gives government one month to respond

He urged the authorities to make the investigation papers public or, at the very least, release them to the family for review.

“If that fails, then we’ll have to look into whether there is possible legal recourse,” Ramkarpal said, adding that no decision had yet been made on further legal action.

Ramkarpal, who is also the Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament, said affidavits filed during a High Court judicial review in 2024 revealed that the investigation papers had been sent repeatedly between the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

According to the High Court judgment, the papers were returned between the two agencies around eight times over several years.

He said the family remained in the dark about the reasons for these repeated exchanges, as the investigation papers had never been disclosed to them.

Disappointment over prime minister’s silence

Teoh’s sister, Teoh Lee Lan, said the family was deeply disappointed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s silence following the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ decision in May 2025 to take no further action on the case.

She said the lack of transparency had compounded the family’s grief and frustration after years of waiting for answers.

The family said disclosure should be granted if there was nothing to hide from public scrutiny, stressing that transparency was essential to restore confidence in the investigative and prosecutorial process.

Also present at the press conference were lawyers Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Lim Wei Jiet, as well as Teoh’s mother, Teoh Shuw Hoi.

‘We will not stop’: family vows to continue pursuit of justice

Ambiga said the family would not give up its search for answers, describing the prolonged legal struggle as deeply painful but necessary.

“Like any mother, she will not stop,” Ambiga said, referring to Teoh’s mother.

“Justice is the right of the family of Teoh Beng Hock. His parents deserve to know what happened to him after all these years,” she added.

In July, Attorney-General Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said the Attorney-General’s Chambers had written to Teoh’s family to explain the Court of Appeal’s findings, including issues relating to the burden of proof.

He said the letter also sought to clarify the court’s ruling that Teoh’s death resulted from an unlawful act by one or several unknown persons.

Dusuki added that the family had rejected the explanation provided by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

In November 2024, High Court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh ordered the police to complete investigations into Teoh’s death within six months, following a judicial review application by his parents.

Despite this directive, the family has said they have yet to see meaningful progress or disclosure of findings.

The tragic saga of Teoh Beng Hock

Teoh Beng Hock was the political secretary to former Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah from the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

He was taken into custody by MACC officers on 15 July 2009 as part of investigations into the alleged misuse of constituency funds by Selangor Pakatan Rakyat assembly members.

He was found dead the following afternoon on the fifth-floor balcony of the Selangor MACC headquarters, a discovery that shocked the nation and triggered widespread public outrage.

An inquest held in January 2010 returned an open verdict, with the coroner ruling that Teoh’s death was neither suicide nor homicide.

In June 2011, a Royal Commission of Inquiry concluded that Teoh had been driven to suicide following aggressive interrogation by MACC officers.

However, in September 2014, the Court of Appeal overturned that conclusion, ruling that his death was caused by multiple injuries from a fall, accelerated by an unlawful act or acts by one or more unknown persons, including MACC officers.

In 2019, police opened an investigation under Section 342 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement.

Two earlier special investigation teams, established in 2011 and 2015, had both resulted in no further action decisions by the public prosecutor.

In May 2015, the government agreed to pay RM600,000 to Teoh’s family to settle a civil suit over negligence, while maintaining that the payment did not constitute an admission of liability.

In January 2022, Teoh’s parents filed a judicial review application seeking to compel the police to complete investigations into their son’s death, underscoring the family’s determination to pursue accountability.