Teoh Beng Hock
Pakatan Rakyat leaders and a number of federal government officials called for a Royal Commission of inquiry into Teoh's death.
Teoh was engaged to 28-year-old teacher Soh Cher Wei after a two-year courtship, and had been planning to register his marriage with her the day following his death.
[4] On 15 August 2009, Soh completed the traditional Chinese marriage ceremonies, together with Teoh Lee Lan, Beng Hock's younger sister, acting as a proxy.
Teoh's colleagues who had also been questioned claimed that they were put under pressure from MACC officers, including being denied access to legal counsel and food or drink.
In the case, Tan Boon Wah v. Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, Ketua Suruhanjaya, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia and Others, the High Court ruled that because Tan was interrogated after normal working hours, he had been subject to false imprisonment, and ordered the MACC to pay him damages.
The video had previously been circulated in June as a supposed example of police interrogation techniques, ruling out the possibility of it involving Teoh.
"[1] The president of the Bar Council, K. Ragunath, said the MACC had contravened the Federal Constitution by denying Teoh legal counsel during questioning, as well as the Lockup Rules 1953, which require all detainees to be locked up between 6.30 pm and 6.30 am to rest.
[12] Mohamad Ramli Manan, a senior official who retired from the Anti-Corruption Agency (before it became the MACC), agreed: It is against established law and practice to interrogate them (suspects) in the night.
[13]Another former ACA official, Abdul Razak Idris, disputed Ramli's view of the interrogation process, saying: "The Act provides that we can interview anytime.
"[17] The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)-owned newspaper Berita Harian published an op-ed by New Straits Times Press managing editor Zainul Ariffin Isa criticising the response to Teoh's death, stating that criticisms of the MACC were an attempt to undermine Malay institutions.
[18] The Cabinet also decided to establish a Royal Commission of inquiry into the MACC's interrogation procedures, but not Teoh's death, allowing the standard inquest to pursue the matter.
[19] In a joint statement, Pakatan Rakyat leaders called the Royal Commission's terms of reference insufficient, saying that the "question [of how Teoh died] cannot be separated from the more general issue of how the MACC conducts investigations.
"[20] The Pakatan Rakyat statement insisted that the Commission probe the following questions: *why was Teoh's case allegedly involving an amount less than RM2,500 is [sic] pursued with such aggression and urgency?
Robert Phang, a member of the MACC advisory board, suggested that "Though the royal commission's scope is wide, it can be opened up further to dig deeper into issues not cleared by the inquest," such as establishing a reason for Teoh's death.
[22][23] The Royal Commission of Inquiry concluded that Teoh was not murdered but had committed suicide due to the aggressive interrogation tactics by three MACC officers.
[28] The Malay daily Utusan Malaysia, which is owned by UMNO, defended the MACC and blamed DAP for Teoh's death.
