4 theSun
PUASA TIMES news without borders
PERLIS Break Fast 7.22pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.43am
KOTA SETAR Break Fast 7.22pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.43am
PENANG
KUANTAN
Break Fast 7.21pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.44am
Break Fast 7.10pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.34am
MACC fails in bid to expunge
KUALA
TERENGGANU
KOTA BARU
Break Fast 7.10pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.33am
Break Fast 7.15pm
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.40am
‘torture’ testimony
by Tan Yi Liang
IPOH Break Fast 7.18pm newsdesk@thesundaily.com
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.41am
PETALING JAYA: The High Court
yesterday dismissed an application by
PETALING JAYA Break Fast 7.16pm
/SHAH ALAM the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.40am mission (MACC) for a revision of the
coroner’s ruling to allow an alleged
KUALA LUMPUR Break Fast 7.16pm victim of MACC torture to testify in the
/PUTRAJAYA Imsak (tomorrow) 5.40am Teoh Beng Hock inquest.
T. Sivanesan, 22, an assistant
manager of a Kuantan-based scaffold-
SEREMBAN Break Fast 7.14pm
ing company, had told the inquest on
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.39am
Wednesday he was slapped, kicked,
punched, beaten with a metal bar and
MALACCA Break Fast 7.13pm hit on his genitals with a
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.37am cane by MACC officers
in September last year.
JOHOR BARU Break Fast 7.07pm “I have perused all the
documents and consid-
TEOH
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.31am
ered all the submissions BENG
and there is nothing
KUCHING Break Fast 6.42pm illegal or incorrect by HOCK
Imsak (tomorrow) 5.07am the coroner to allow the
witness to testify, and I inquest
KOTA KINABALU Break Fast 6.19pm dismiss this application,”
Imsak (tomorrow) 4.41am Judicial Commissioner
www.islam.gov.my/portal/puasa.php
Datin Yeoh Wee Siam said.
Yeoh also rejected an application by
Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup
for a stay of proceedings pending an ap-
plication with the Court of Appeal.
Manoj, who stood in for MACC
counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa,
had submitted earlier that the coroner,
Azmil Muntapha Abas, had erred in
allowing Sivanesan, the inquest’s 20th
witness, to take the stand, and called for
his testimony and submitted documents
to be expunged.
He argued that Sivanesan’s testimony
of his alleged torture by Selangor MACC
officers was irrelevant to the inquest.
“What we are dealing with is an
inquest, and the scope of an inquest
is very clear, and that is the cause of
Teoh’s death. The MACC is not on
trial, the witnesses are not on trial, and
it is certainly not a witchhunt,” Manoj
said.
“The only essence or purpose of this
witness was to smear, taint and tarnish
the image of the MACC and nothing
more and it has no nexus to the cause
of death of Teoh Beng Hock.”
Manoj also submitted that Azmil
had erred in law in his interpretation of
similar-fact evidence as allowed under
| FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11 2009
sections 11b, 14 and 15 of the Evidence
Act.
“Case law on similar fact evidence
makes it very clear that when we admit
similar fact evidence, it must have a
material bearing on the issue being
decided. It is our contention that it had
no material bearing at all,” he said.
Gobind Singh Deo, counsel for the
Teoh family, submitted that a coroner
has a wide discretion in law to call for
testimony to determine the cause of
death.
He said a coroner is duty-bound to
look into all matters necessary as to
how the deceased died.
Gobind said Sivane-
san’s testimony was
necessary as a result
of the testimony of the
MACC witnesses.
“The 19th witness,
Ashraf (MACC officer
Mohd Ashraf Mohd
Yunus), was part of the
interrogation team of
Teoh. We have reason to
believe he assaulted Teoh,” he said.
“During examination, he denied
assaulting Teoh and denied that there
were such beatings, or interroga-
tion methods involving torture at the
MACC.”
Defending Azmil’s decision to allow
Sivanesan to testify, Gobind said: “The
learned magistrate (acting as a coroner)
felt it was appropriate for him (to allow
the witness to testify) and in those cir-
cumstances, we can see the relevance
of it.”
He said the MACC officers who gave
evidence cannot be believed, and added:
“Why does the MACC bring in their wit-
nesses who tell us these things do not
happen, when we cannot bring in our
witnesses to say they are lying?”
Selangor state government counsel
Malik Imtiaz Sarwar submitted that a
nexus existed as the possibility of Teoh
being tortured was not dismissed by the
pathologists who conducted the post-
mortem on him.
“The MACC says there was no nexus
and no pre-fall injury. The first patholo-
gist conceded to the possibility of pre-
fall injuries to the head, anal region and
face,” Malik said.
The inquest continues today.
‘Trend’ to make false
reports, says MACC
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corrup-
tion Commission (MACC) said yesterday there
is a trend where those interrogated by the
MACC lodge police reports alleging they were
tortured, forced to make false statements and
threatened during questioning.
Denying these allegations, the MACC
national headquarters said: “It is found that
the people who lodge those reports consists
of those who have admitted to corruption in
their recorded statements.”
“The reports are lodged to tarnish MACC’s
image and disrupt the investigation process in
their cases,” a statement by the MACC said.
It said it had made counter-reports against
the allegations and urged the police to
“independently investigate” in detail all the
reports made by, and against, the MACC and
take action against those found to have made
false reports.
“MACC will not tolerate any of its officers
who act beyond the limits of the law while
conducting their duties and investigations,”
the statement added.
No H1N1
The deaths for 7th
MACC is
not on consecutive day
trial, the
by Karen Arukesamy
witnesses newsdesk@thesundaily.com
are not
on trial, PETALING JAYA: No Influenza A(H1N1)
and it is deaths were recorded for the seventh
day in a row yesterday. Seventy-five
certainly new cases of influenza-like illness (ILI)
not a were admitted to hospitals nation-
witch- wide.
hunt.” A statement from the Health Min-
istry said 154 patients have been dis-
– DPP Manoj charged and there are 1,096 patients
Kurup being treated in 104 hospitals, including
11 private hospitals, nationwide.
“From the total number of patients
being treated in hospitals, only 257
(23%) patients are confirmed positive
of H1N1, of whom 39 are in the Inten-
sive Care Unit (ICU),” Health director-
general Tan
INFLUENZA A(H1N1) HOTLINE Sri Dr Mohd
Ismail Meri-
» 03-88810200/300 can said.
» 03-88834414/415 Thirty
of the ICU
cases are
from the high-risk category, including
one pregnant woman and six children
below five.
“Those with ILI must obtain treat-
ment from the nearest clinics or
hospitals and minimise direct contact
with individuals without symptoms
and practise self-hygiene as advised
by the doctors,” Mohd Ismail said.
To prevent the spread of ILI in the
community, the people should cover
their mouths when coughing or sneez-
ing, and wash their hands with soap
and water after coughing or sneezing.
Mohd Ismail also urged sick indi-
viduals to practise social distancing
and refrain from being at public or
crowded places.
“Parents are advised not to take
their children to crowded places to
prevent them from falling sick or being
infected with ILI,” he said.
Those with ILI should not go to
shopping centres, Ramahan bazaars
or attend buka puasa functions.
“If they still have to go out to
perform an important task, they must
wear face masks at all times. Simi-
larly, all those in the high-risk category
should wear masks all the time they
are at public or crowded places even
if they are not symptomatic,” Mohd
Ismail said.