~penarik beca

Rakyat menuntut suruhanjaya di raja yang menyiasat punca sebenar kematian Teoh Beng Hock di mana ia termasuk menyiasat cara siasatan yang digunapakai oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) semasa melakukan soal siasat terhadap Teoh dan semua perkara yang boleh menentukan punca kematian beliau. Tiba-tiba mereka hanya buat inkues untuk menentukan punca sebenar kematian Teoh.

Jika suruhanjaya di raja menyiasat punca sebenar kematian Teoh, ia mempunyai bidang kuasa yang lebih luas berbanding inkues yang hanya diketuai oleh seorang majistret.

Di bawah ini, saya copy and paste berita Malay Mail hari ini agar anda memahami perbezaan antara inkues dan suruhanjaya.

Teoh death: No to inquest, yes to royal commission

A Royal Commission of Inquiry, and not an inquest, should look into the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

This was the consensus of the legal fraternity and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in response to a statement by Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin that Teoh's case could end up in a coroner's court as an inquest would usually be conducted by the court for cases of "sudden death".

Teoh's case has been classified as such, and this is normally investigated by an inquest, which is essentially judicial investigations carried out by magistrates upon the request of the public prosecutor.

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said an inquest would not be able to answer all the questions raised in the last one week on Teoh's death.

"In this case, there are more answers needed than just the cause of his death. An inquest would be insufficient to address these questions."

Ragunath said in contrast to the limitations of an inquest, a Royal Commission would cover a wider scope, including finding out the circumstances surrounding his death, regulations, protocols and standard operating procedures of the MACC.

"MACC is a very important public institution and there is a negative impact on the commission if they are unable to answer, for example, why he was not accompanied by a lawyer, and the need to question him for a long time when he was a witness assisting in the MACC's investigations," he said.

Ragunath said it was pertinent that the a Royal Commission of Inquiry presides over the matter as it was also in the position to clear the MACC's name.

Criminal lawyer Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu also supported the call for a royal commission to oversee the inquiry. "This is a situation where the MACC, given tremendous powers to run investigations to the extent that they can't be sued in a civil court, also carries the responsibility of a highly-accountable body. If its officers had not acted in a wrongful manner, then it is only right that a royal commission presides over investigations. It is hugely important that the public does not lose faith in the MACC.

"A royal commission is more open and transparent as it is not rigidly governed by the rules of the criminal procedures. In an inquest, the coroner who makes the decision is normally a magistrate but in a royal commission, senior members with expertise covering every aspect of the case would be able to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry."

Suhakam commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said a Royal Commission of Inquiry would, among others, be able to dwell into matters like competency and manuals used by MACC officers to question their witnesses.

"The MACC has no choice but to clear its image and there is no better way than this. The royal commission panel will have to get the consent of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and therefore it will investigate the matter as an independent party."

PAST PROMINENT CASES OF INQUESTS:

CASE 1: K. Sujatha, former personal secretary to Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s son, Vell Paari.

THE inquest is still being heard in front of coroner Mohd Faizi Che Abu in the magistrate’s court of Kuala Lumpur.

The purpose of the inquest is to determine if Sujatha, 29, was murdered or had committed suicide by drinking weedkiller two years ago.

Among others, questions were raised on why she was rushed from a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang where she died, some 30km away, instead of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

The inquest had also asked why a post-mortem was not conducted before her body was cremated and if she had revealed on her deathbed what had actually taken place at her apartment.

CASE 2: Dr Cynthia Joseph

DR JOSEPH died at the age of 42 on Sept 27, 2004 at the Pantai Cheras Medical Centre. Police exhumed her body on Dec 2, 2004 after her family suspected foul play in her death.

Her father, Joseph Sebastian, told coroner Tasnim Abu Bakar that he had decided to lodge a police report on Nov 25 the same year after he found it strange that his son-in-law, Dr A. Retnarasa, did not want a post-mortem done.

Following the report, police exhumed Dr Joseph’s body at the Cheras Christian Cemetery. The inquest is ongoing.

PREVIOUS CASES OF ROYAL COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY:

CASE 1: V.K. Lingam Video Clip

A COMMISSION was formed in late 2007 to investigate an allegation of illegal intervention into the judicial appointment process of Malaysian judges that purportedly took place in 2002.

The formation of the commission was a follow-up to a recommendation by a three-man panel tasked with determining the authenticity of recordings of a telephone conversation by prominent lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam purportedly with Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, allegedly fixing the appointment of "friendly" senior judges.

The eight-minute clip, said to be originally 14 minutes when recorded sometime in 2002, was made public by Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

CASE 2: NUDE SQUAT

FORMER Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah was appointed to head a five-man independent commission to probe the inquiry into the controversial case of a woman forced to do squats in the nude while in police custody in December 2005.

The commission's report identified the detainee as a local woman, and deemed nude squats to be improper and in violation of human rights principles, criticised police procedures, and provided a detailed manual on how to go about body searches.

The commission also made a number of recommendations, including a repeat of the first Commission's call for human rights awareness training for the police, and the establishment of an independent complaints commission.

Importantly, the Commission called for "…a shift in the mindset of those within the (police) so that there is an unwavering commitment to work towards a police culture that is more effective, responsibility driven and human rights sensitive."

The woman has filed a RM10 million suit against the police.

Berkaitan:
Cabinet's decision nonsensical (Malaysia Today 22/7/09)