Witness: Notes help me to remember

A witness who was supposedly coached on his testimony to the royal commission of inquiry investigating the death of Teoh Beng Hock has said that he needs his notes as a guide.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) security guard Mohd Khairuddin Denan said this was to help him remember.

Khairuddin, 56, who had testified for the first time on April 13, was caught with a note which listed questions and answers in a format similar to that of cross-examination in court.

Bar Council lawyer, Cheow Wee (left), tried to establish if Khairuddin had typed the note, as he had previously claimed.

This morning, the note and the diary in which it was found was submitted to the commission as exhibits.

Khairuddin said he had picked up the diary after it was discarded by a MACC officer “a long time ago” and often only used it to read Islamic verses that were printed in it.

He said he has only scribbled a few entries in it about his favourite songs and random matters.

Khairuddin, who is of Javanese descent, told Cheow that he is not fluent in Malay although he was born and raised in Malaysia.

Cheow: Uncle, can you see if this your handwriting? Can you try to read what it says... take your time, try to guess.

Khairuddin: I can’t read it... these are just scribbles.

Cheow: When did you hear this word ‘interrogate’?

Khairuddin: I know that word because I’ve heard them use it... but I don’t know how it is spelt.

The lawyer, referring to the note, pointed out that Khairuddin had spelt ‘interrogate’ wrongly as ‘entrugaet’.

Cheow also asked how Khairuddin was able to predict specific questions, but the witness said he could predict the line of questioning after his first day in court.

Khairuddin then insisted that he was not coached and had only used the notes as a reminder to himself.

Cheow: You said the notes were to remind you about something? If you were going to tell the truth there is no need to remember, right?

Khairuddin: I wanted to remind myself.

Cheow: Uncle, would you agree with me that if you’re going to tell the truth, you don’t need to prepare notes? You can just tell the truth?

The witness remained silent.

Second witness to cry

MACC lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then asked Khairuddin about the scope of his employment and duties at the anti-graft agency.

Khairuddin said he is required to patrol the corridors of the Selangor MACC office and ensure safety.

Questioned on the way he had carried out his duties at the time of Teoh's death in July 2009, the witness began crying as he provided his explanation.

Shafee (right) asked why he had not patrolled the office when Teoh was there on July 15, 2009,

“Allah SWT didn’t move my heart (at that time) and instincts to patrol the area,” he replied.

Chief commissioner James Foong interjected and asked Khairuddin sarcastically: “If God doesn’t ask you to do, you don’t do? Then every day, it depends on God, you don’t need to do.”

Khairuddin hid his face in his hands and was heard choking on his words. The inquiry was stood down for 10 minutes to allow him to compose himself.

The security guard was on the late night shift from midnight to 8am while Teoh was in the Selangor MACC office at the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 15, 2009.

Teoh was being questioned as a witness into irregularities in the disbursement of state funds, but was found dead on the fifth floor service corridor of the building the following day.

Khairudddin is the second witness to turn tearful during the RCI after MACC senior enforcement officer Mohd Anuar Ismail.

Questioning in chambers

After the 10-minute break, the commission resumed the questioning of Khairuddin in chambers without the knowledge of the observers and lawyers, and only reappeared an hour later.

“We feel that if we don’t do our duty to investigate, then we wouldn’t be doing our task. We decided to interview him in private. It was done in chambers, in a very cordial atmosphere.

“There were certain things revealed to us, which we are going to ask him now... via questioning by (commissioner Dr Mohamed) Hatta Shaharom, left).

“We did because it was an opportune time... we did not want to announce first because we might have missed the opportunity,” said Foong, explaining the impromptu decision.

The decision came about following an application by the Bar Council to have Khairuddin cross-examined by the commissioners in camera without the presence of lawyers.

“I don't think we can go anywhere,” said lawyer Christopher Leong, adding that the witness has been coached.

Citing provisions in the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950, Leong asked the panel to play its role as investigators and to exclude the lawyers.

“It’s too premature to determine if witness is lying,” said Foong, and added that the panel will decide on this later.

“If he spills the beans, if there are any beans to spill... the public will want to know, what methods (we) have adopted. (They might ask:) Did you put a hood around him and beat him up?” mused Foong (left).

Although Shafee did not agree with the suggestion, he left the final decision to the commission, which went ahead to question Khairuddin in private.

The inquiry resumes tomorrow.