And the Official Questioning Starts - Taken from TheStraitsTime.com

August 5, 2009 Wednesday

Updated 3.55 pm

Inquest into political aid's death

		The government ordered the inquest after opposition groups held protests demanding to know what happened to Teoh. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA began an inquest on Wednesday into the mysterious death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock who apparently plunged from the 14th floor of anti-corruption offices where he was being questioned.

'We want to find out how Teoh met with his death,' the lawyer representing his family, Gobind Singh Deo, told AFP at the start of the inquiry, which is scheduled to run for 15 days.

Teoh's body was found on July 16 on the roof of an adjacent building after he had undergone questioning late into the night at the offices of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The government ordered the inquest after opposition groups held protests demanding to know what happened to Teoh, an assistant to a member of the state cabinet in Selangor, which is ruled by the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance.

The inquest began with testimony from two witnesses, a building technician and a janitor, who testified on the condition of Teoh's body when he was found sprawled on a balcony.

A total of 97 witnesses will be called, most of them MACC officers.

The inquest falls short of the opposition's demand for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh's death, which they argue would be more independent.

'We have grave doubts. But we suspend judgement to give the inquest a chance to prove itself,' said veteran opposition legislator Lim Kit Siang, who attended the inquest.

'The people want a royal commission as it will command public confidence... The public do not accept this inquest because it is based on a police investigation,' he told AFP.

The anti-corruption body has said that on the day he was found dead Teoh, who was not himself under investigation, had been questioned until 3.45am and then chose to rest in the building after being discharged.

It said he was seen at 6.00am the same day, sleeping on a sofa, and was not seen again until his crumpled body was discovered that afternoon. He had been due to get married that day, to his fiancee who is in the early stages of pregnancy. -- AFP