Bar Council want Royal Commission on Teoh

There has been a lot of criticism of the Attorney-General's Chambers who are assisting in the inquest of Teoh Beng Hock, over a sudden appearance of a mysterious note which can provide an insight to the political aide's state of mind before his death.

Some like the Bar Council's chairperson Ragunath Kesavan (right), have called for the setting up of a Royal Commission of Enquiry, to not only investigate the death but also the shortcomings within the criminal justice system.

"We are disappointed with the Attorney-General's Chambers which has withheld a crucial document from the Coroner's Court. The suppression of evidence particularly in such a high profile matter, is disturbing regardless of the reason," said Ragunath in a statement.

"This action is indicative of a serious lapse of judgment and undermines the proceeding of the inquest."

He added that a fundamental tenet in a criminal matter is that all evidence must be disclosed, and made accessible to all parties, including evidence which could also be detrimental to their case.

"Prior to the commencement of the inquest, the prosecution ought to have furnished the defence and the court all documents that are relevant for the coroner to determine the cause of death based on all facts and evidence in court. The prosecution is duty bound to uphold fairness and justice," he said.

"The failure to produce the document as soon as it was discovered raises misgivings about the credibility and fairness of the prosecution, and lack of transparency."

Ragunath noted a year after Teoh's untimely death, the public's confidence in the investigation and prosecution remains low as with their confidence in the Malaysian criminal justice system.

Family and lawyer right to be upset

Late yesterday evening, Attorney-General's Chambers denied the suppression of evidence. The AG, Abdul Gani Patail, had a document examiner check the note, but was not convinced of the authenticity of the note due to insufficient samples to verify the handwriting, in particular of the Chinese characters.

"Having considered these factors, Abdul Gani was of the view that the note should not be tendered until and unless the investigation officer could provide a satisfactory explanation," the statement from the chambers said.

Some lawyers when posed with the matter questioned why it took 10 months for this to be finally disclosed to the court.

Cheow Wee (left), a prominent civil law and criminal lawyer, said lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, the family members and all parties involved have the right to be upset.

"This evidence has been with the Attorney-General Chamber's since October. It is not right for them not to disclose it to the coroner and decide on their own on what to do with it," he said.

Cheow said the disclosure to the coroner and parties should be done in the first place when it first appeared.

He said if it had disclosed earlier, then the inquest would have taken a different direction. "A lot of time has been wasted in this."

Asked whether the Bar Council's proposal to have a Royal Commission of Enquiry would help, Cheow said that has been agreed prior to this.

But as a result of the revelation of the note, Cheow suggested that the scope of the commission be expanded to also identify why it took a long time for the AG to disclose it.

'Withholding evidence'

Another well known criminal lawyer from Johor, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, said it left the legal fraternity and the affected parties agitated.

"It should not have been held for so long as this is not a prosecution trial but an inquest to determine the cause of death. Parties should be assisting in an inquest and all evidence should have been produced in court.

"It gives public the perception that the lawyer representing the AG, who are supposed to be assisting in the inquest, is withholding something. This amounts to suppression of evidence," he said.

Teh (right), who is also the Johor representative for the Bar Council also questioned why it had taken 10 months for them to finally disclose this. He said lawyers viewed all this with concern.

"This brings to question the state of the prosecution system in the country," said Teh.

Teoh's family lawyer Gobind Singh, said everybody could see through the inefficiency of the chambers.

"The chambers argued it is important to determine Teoh's state of mind, but they kept silent when they had the document in their possession. It is not for Gani to decide whether it is authentic. It is for the court and it should have been produced a long time ago."

Gobind also asked reporters whether they found Gani's explanation convincing and why the note was not shared with Teoh's family and the parties involved.