Bar Council revives call for RCI into Teoh's death

(The Edge) - The Malaysian Bar has revived the call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock following the testimony of Thai pathologist Dr Porntip Rojanasunan that there was an 80% probability that his death was a homicide.

In a statement today, Malaysian Bar president Ragunath Kesavan said the RCI should have a wide ambit to investigate the circumstances and cause of Teoh's death and to conduct a concomitant review of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) interrogation and investigation techniques.

"These two aspects are intrinsically interlinked and cannot be analysed in isolation from one another," he said.

Kesavan said it was evident now, more than ever, that the scope of the RCI's investigation must not be limited to reviewing the MACC's interrogation methods alone, as was proposed by the government.

"Under the Penal Code, an inquest is restricted in its scope and findings, and would be far less effective than an RCI would be," he said.