At a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here today, Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) chairman Ng Yap Hwa said the group invites all victims or families of victims to join the family support group, with human rights NGOs welcome to join the group’s secretariat.
The group’s secretariat is jointly managed by TBH-ADA and Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).
Ng said the group would organise regular meetings and provide legal counsel to the families.
He said TBH-ADA and Madpet are jointly preparing and refining a proposed anti-torture bill, and that current legislation is inadequate to address the abuse of power and torture of detainees by enforcement officers.
“To what extent is an existing law like the Criminal Procedure Code used by the government to charge law enforcement officers?” Ng said to FMT.
He said separate legislation such as the proposed anti-torture bill is necessary to address the lack of accountability and culture of impunity among public officials.
Syed Shariff Syed Nur, brother of the late Syed Azlan, said the proposed bill would see public officials found guilty of torture, sexual abuse, rape or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment sentenced to imprisonment for 30 to 40 years.
Ng said a draft of the bill would be referred to a technical committee consisting of lawyers and human rights activists, before being presented to the government for consideration.
Beng Hock’s sister, Lee Lan, who was also present, said: “We hope Malaysians will support the bill. Regardless of whether one is a normal citizen or public official, justice needs to be rightly served.”
Beng Hock was a political aide who died on July 16, 2009 at the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned for hours by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, whose Selangor office was based there.
A coroner’s inquest in 2011 delivered an open verdict, and his family subsequently filed an appeal.
Three years later, the Court of Appeal set aside the open verdict and ruled that Beng Hock’s death was caused by multiple injuries as a result of unlawful acts by unknown persons.
Kamarulnizam and Syed Azlan were detainees who both died in custody in 2014.