Teoh Beng Hock

Teoh was the third child of Teoh Leong Hwee (born 1953).

His father was a taxi driver, and his mother, Teng Shuw Hor (1953) is a housewife.

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.

A photo shoot on the same day, followed by a honeymoon and wedding reception in October had also been planned.

At the time of Teoh's death, Soh was two months pregnant; she told the press she intended to keep the child.

National Registration Department regulations only allow a father's name to be included on the birth certificate if he is physically present at the time of birth; after this was publicised through the press, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said she would ask the NRD to look into the matter.

Shahrizat also stated her ministry would assist in transferring Soh from her current school to one closer to her hometown, and look into assisting Teoh's family since he was their sole breadwinner.

Prime Minister Najib Razak later met with Teoh's family to express his condolences.

Najib told them he would direct the Attorney-General and relevant government departments to look into Teoh's family's wish that his child bear the Teoh surname.

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 6.30pm and 6.30am to rest.

Ragunath called Teoh's interrogation tantamount to torture.

Ean Yong's lawyer insisted that as "Teoh's movement was restricted, this amounts to an arrest," despite the MACC's insistence that Teoh was only a voluntary witness.

He had an elder brother; Teoh Beng Kee (Chinese: 赵铭基) (born 1976), elder sister; Teoh Lee Jun (Chinese: 赵丽君) and a younger sister; Teoh Lee Lan (1980,Chinese: 赵丽兰).

Teoh Beng Hock (20 April 1979 – 16 July 2009) was a Chinese Malaysian journalist and political aide to Ean Yong Hian Wah, a member of the Selangor state legislative assembly and state executive council.

On 15 July 2009, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) took Teoh into custody for questioning about allegations of corruption.

Teoh was found dead the next morning on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the MACC offices.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders and a number of federal government officials called for a Royal Commission of inquiry into Teoh's death.

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.

Kerk Kim Hock, a distant uncle of Teoh and the family's acting spokesperson, told the press that completion of the marriage rites now entitled Soh to have her name engraved on Teoh's gravestone as his wife.

MACC officials claimed that the interrogation had lasted for about 9 hours.

According to the MACC also, Teoh was freed at 3.45am—however without proper explanation, his possessions, including his mobile phone, remained in MACC custody.

MACC officials also claimed that Teoh asked to stay the night at the MACC office, and was claimed to be last seen alive around 6am.

Teoh was found dead at 1.30pm later in the day.

The investigation had been into allegations that Ean Yong had paid RM2,400 for flags to be used in Merdeka Day celebrations, but not taken delivery of the flags.

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.

Teoh's mobile phone was still in the possession of MACC officials when he was found dead at 1.30pm despite the MACC's claims that Teoh was released at 3.45am.

The mobile phone was later handed to the police for investigation.

One of Teoh's colleagues, Tan Boon Wah, later filed suit against the MACC for false imprisonment.

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.

Tan's lawyer, Karpal Singh, said that Teoh's family could also sue the MACC for damages, citing this ruling.

Democratic Action Party Parliamentary leader and former Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang lamented that "Teoh Beng Hock would not have died if MACC had followed the law" and interrogated him during the day.

Teoh's family and others have called the MACC's version of events into question.

When the investigating officer involved briefed the MACC's advisory board, several members of the board "asked why he chose to stay back. Any detainee would have run for his life! The investigating officer replied that since Teoh wanted to stay back, he allowed it."

During this briefing it also emerged that no official records of Teoh's detention or his release existed.

In August, a video of men in uniform assaulting a man in their custody began circulating as a supposed video of Teoh's interrogation.

The Bukit Aman federal police headquarters denied the men were police personnel.

The video had previously been circulated in June as a supposed example of police interrogation techniques, ruling out the possibility of it involving Teoh.

A political observer attributed the video's popularity to the government's failing to provide adequate clarification about the circumstances of Teoh's interrogation: "The authorities are shedding little light about what happened to Teoh. This allows rumour mongers to spread ridiculous things."

Some lawyers have argued that the law does not authorise the MACC to hold witnesses in custody, and that since Teoh was not a suspect, he should not have been held in custody.

The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) called the duration of Teoh's questioning "inhumane and cruel."