KUALA LUMPUR: The Najib administration has caved in to public pressure and widened the scope of the royal panel to include investigating how Teoh Beng Hock died despite its initial refusal to do so.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in a statement issued today. It was also revealed that Federal Court judge James Foong Cheng Yuen will lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
Foong will be assisted by former federal judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, ex-Court of Appeal judge T Selventhiranathan, forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh and Cyberjaya Universiti College of Medical Sciences Profesor Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom.
Saripuddin Kasim, the director-general of the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, is the secretary of the commission.
The other members are senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh, and deputy public prosecutors Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud and Kwan Li Sa.
Najib said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has consented to the appointment and the terms of reference set for the royal panel.
The terms of reference will probe the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating procedures, and enquire into the death of the former DAP aide and the circumstances that contributed to his death.
“The commission will have three months from the date of its appointment to complete its inquiry. The report will be submitted to the King,” said Najib.
Teoh, 30, the former DAP aide to Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, fell to his death on July 16, 2009, at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, after he was questioned overnight by the Selangor MACC.
An inquest was set up to probe how he died but coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas returned an open verdict after more than a year of proceeding.
The verdict sparked a nationwide outrage with the opposition piling the pressure on Najib to set up a royal panel.
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