Beng Hock’s newborn may carry his surname after all

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Teoh Beng Hock’s newborn son may yet be allowed to register his father’s surname on his birth certificate after all, his aunt told The Malaysian Insider today.

Teoh Lee Lan, 29, the younger sister of the late political secretary to a Selangor executive councillor, said a “Datuk Loo” who is special officer to the Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, had called the family last week and given the green light for the child to carry his father’s name on his birth certificate.

“But we haven’t received it in black-and-white yet,” Lee Lan said.

She added that the family still had two weeks before they needed to register the child’s birth with the National Registration Department (NRD), which is under Hishammudin’s ministry.

Laws in Malaysia require both parents to be physically present or show proof they are married to each other in order for their child to be registered with the father’s name.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had last year assured Teoh’s family that he would do his best to help the child’s registration to avoid any social stigma.

Teoh had arranged to register his marriage to his then pregnant fiancee, Soh Cher Wei, last July 17 but passed away the day before.

The 30-year-old’s body was found sprawled on a 5th-floor corridor outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s branch office in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 16 where he had been questioned overnight on claims his boss had misused state funds.

“Baby Teoh” was born in Batu Pahat, Johor yesterday morning but his name has yet to be decided by his paternal grandparents and his mother.

“Actually we have short-listed three names, but they all sound good and we can’t decide,” Lee Lan explained to The Malaysian Insider but declined to reveal the short-list.