KUALA LUMPUR -- The Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) has been told to boost the infrastructure on its premises and
offices, including installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and
monitors to record movements and behaviour of anyone entering or leaving any
office or room.This was one of the proposals of the Royal
Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the death of Teoh Beng Hock in its
report to improve aspects of protection of witnesses who were under MACC's
investigations to prevent a recurrence of a controversy such as the case of
political aide Teoh Beng Hock's death.
The suggestion was the opinion of all the panel
members of the commission based on the arguments which were forwarded during the
process of investigation into the case.Besides improving the infrastructure, the
commission also proposed that MACC scrutinise existing procedures to make them
more effective and re-evaluate the qualifications of those entering the service
and the training of its officers.The commission which was set up by the government
to investigate the cause of Teoh's death was chaired by Federal Court judge
James Foong Cheng Yuen.
Commission members were ex-Federal Court judge
Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, ex-Appeals Court judge T.S. Nathan, Consultant Forensic
Pathologist at the Forensic Medicine Department, Penang Hospital, Dr Bhupinder
Singh, Consultant Psychiatrist/Forensic Medicine and Dean of Cyberjaya
University College of Medical Sciences, Professor Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom and
Legal Affairs Division Director-General at the Prime Minister's Department
Saripuddin Kasim, who was appointed commission secretary.
To upgrade the infrastructure, the commission was
also of the opinion that MACC must have a waiting room for witnesses while they
waited to be interviewed or have their statements recorded.MACC officers must be in attendance in the
waiting room to prevent any untoward incident and prevent witnesses who were
involved in the same investigation from communicating with each other.Meanwhile, the witnesses could not be made to
wait for more than 30 minutes, except if there was a good reason, said the
report.
"We need not stress on the requirements, seeing
the incidents which show that when a witness or a suspect is allowed to wander
around without being monitored at the MACC office, untoward incidents might
happen," said the commission.MACC was also asked to create special unlocked
rooms on the ground floor of an office to interview and record statements of
witnesses.This would enable a superior officer to check on
interviews and recordings of statements from time to time to ensure they are
carried out in accordance with the law.
To create transparency in the interview, the
interview room must have one-way glass windows. All proceedings must be recorded
on CCTV.
MACC was also told to build resting rooms to
accommodate its officers at night if their duties required them to stay longer.
This is to enable them to rest comfortably and be in a good frame of mind.On the recording of statements outside working
hours, the commission opined that if stopping the recording of statements of
witnesses had an adverse effect on investigations, the task should be continued
after working hours. The witnesses must be given ample rest and their physical
and mental health should be taken into account, it said.
The commission also stressed on the good
treatment of witnesses undergoing interrogation at the MACC office, including
using decent language and allowing the witnesses to inform their families on
their whereabouts.
On the qualification of MACC officers, the
commission said they should have at least, completed higher education, undergone
comprehensive training and fulfilled the stipulated standard, including
psychological evaluation and counseling.
Source : Bernama
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