The contentious document which the Attorney-General's Chambers will adduce at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest will likely warrant a retrial, said lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.

However, this would be impractical as the inquest has been going on for almost a year and is in its final stages, he said.

"Why don't NONE we just restart the inquest? Why don't we just do that?" snapped an irate Gobind this morning.

He was responding to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, when asked if the document would lead to witnesses being recalled.

"Don't ask the lawyers how they feel. Ask the reporters who have covered (the inquest) for a year. Ask the family how they feel. Let's take it from there," said Gobind, who represents Teoh's family.

Gobind's main concern is for Teoh's family and how the delay in presenting crucial evidence may prolong the inquest, and their anguish.

Had the document been tendered earlier, he said the testimony of witnesses would have been different because the line of questioning would have taken into account the contents of the document.

He also blamed the AG's Chambers for the fiasco.

"Can the AG just say: 'Oh... sorry. My IO (investigating officer) is not doing his job properly, but never mind. Let's just put the whole country through this again'.

"Are we going to sit back (and watch)? Somebody must take responsibility."

Gobind said the purpose of the inquest is for the coroner to examine documents and evidence before making a decision. The role of the AG is to assist the court.

"In this case, the AG should benefit all parties to find the truth and not take sides. In circumstances like this (when a document is suddenly produced) it ought to be brought to the magistrate at an early stage.

"I believe everyone would have taken a different angle in their approach to witnesses if they had known that this note existed."

Gobind said NONE it was even more inexcusable for the AG to have delayed tendering the document, since he has admitted to being in possession of it since last October.

Teoh, 30, was found dead on the fifth floor service corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16 last year.

He had been questioned overnight by the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as a witness into allegations of irregularities in the disbursement of Selangor government allocations.

‘Don’t spring surprise’

Gobind further said the note, a copy of which he obtained yesterday, contains Chinese characters and letters of the Roman alphabet, with some English and Malay words.

He said the prosecution had wanted to tender it yesterday during the inquest.

“But you do not do that! You do not just come to court and spring something as significant as this and expect us to accept it sitting down. We do not do that and the AG should understand that,” he said.

Gobind said some form of action would be taken in the next coming days and that he is in the process of getting advice and instructions.

“I think the first thing we are looking at is the authenticity of the note itself and from there, we will decide what to do.”

“I cannot comment much on that now but all I can say is with respect to the AG, I find it is a clear instance of evidence being with held from us.”

Saying he is not in a position to confirm that the writing was Teoh’s, the lawyer also revealed that the AG’s Chambers had asked for a sample of Teoh’s handwriting.

azlan In a statement released late yesterday, AG Abdul Gani Patail, had denied withholding evidence.

However, Gobind pointed out that the statement will not be acceptable to the public and called on the AG to be honest.

“Are you fit to be the AG?” he asked in reference to Abdul Gani.

“I say it again, resign. Take the blame, do it honourably. If this can happen with Teoh's case, what about other cases and prosecutions?”