Kula floats private prosecution route in Teoh Beng Hock case

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran has floated the possibility of a private prosecution route in the Teoh Beng Hock case, after MPs questioned the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ decision to classify it as requiring no further action (NFA).

Kulasegaran said while the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had recommended that the case be reinvestigated and that criminal charges be brought, the commission could not compel prosecution.

He said he would obtain clarification from the relevant agencies on the feasibility of a private prosecution route, or another legal process to compel prosecution, before deciding on the next course of action.

“I promise I will get an answer (from the agencies). I knew Teoh myself, and feel this matter deserves certainty. We cannot evade this matter. It is embarrassing the nation,” he said when winding up his ministry’s debate on Suhakam’s 2024 annual report in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor), who represents Teoh’s family, had earlier said any private prosecution or prosecution by fiat would require the attorney-general’s consent.

In March, Teoh’s sister, Lee Lan, went to Geneva, Switzerland, to urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to press Malaysia for an independent probe into his death.

Teoh was found dead in July 2009 on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, hours after arriving for questioning at the Selangor office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

An inquest initially returned an open verdict. However, in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that his death was caused by “one or more unknown persons”, including MACC officers.

Police completed the wrongful confinement investigation last year following a 2024 court order, and the AGC later directed that the case be classified as NFA due to insufficient evidence.

Separately, Kulasegaran said the government is studying whether Suhakam should be empowered to carry out immediate visits to lock-ups, prisons and detention centres when incidents come to its attention.

He said this is not a new idea, noting that the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has the power to enter places of detention without first obtaining permission.

“If the Philippines and other countries can give such powers to their human rights commissions, I am surprised Malaysia has not done so,” he said, adding that the matter is being discussed and a final decision is expected soon.