Clement Hii
It
has been four years since Teoh Beng Hock mysteriously fell to his death
at the MACC building. The family has yet to find a closure and is still
struggling to come to grips about losing him under unexplained
circumstances. Two court cases are still pending and the struggle to
find "justice" still persists. Find out how they are coping for now.
PETALING JAYA: The family of Teoh Beng Hock tries to move on and get on with life but his mysterious death still lingers in their mind every single day even four years after he had passed away.
All the family wants now is to seek justice for Beng Hock over his death while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In this second and final part of an exclusive interview with theantdaily, Beng Hock’s sister Lee Lan admitted that the family still has difficulty in moving on and continues to have sleepless nights over his death.
“We are still fighting no matter how hard it is. The fact that the government tries to cover up the case makes us more determined. We will pursue the matter until we find out exactly what happened to my brother at the MACC office.
“Our lives are still not quite as normal as we have to go to court frequently because there are still two cases pending,” she explained.
“My parents still live in pain. They cannot sleep well as they continue to feel something was missing.
“We try to help them pass the days by taking them to visit my sister in Singapore and Beng Hock’s son and wife in Batu Pahat,” said Lee Lan.
Asked about Beng Hock’s son, Teoh Er Jia, who is now four years old, Lee Lan said he is growing up well and lives with his mother Soh Cher Wei in Johor.
When asked if the boy queried about his father, Lee Lan said, “From his mum, we know when people asked him about what he thinks of his father, he tells them, my father is black.”
“We always wear black badges, t-shirts alongside banners, magazines which have Beng Hock’s photo in the middle whenever we campaign for him. This is how he thinks of his father.”
“When he was one, I remember that Er Jia used to call my elder brother Meng Kee ‘father’. That was during the time when he just started to talk. Whenever Meng Kee came home from work, he would greet him as ‘papa’,” Lee Lan said.
The 33-year-old sister, who is now happily married, also recalled the days Beng Hock went about preparing for his wedding with his then girlfriend Cher Wei.
When he found out that Cher Wei was pregnant, he had asked their mother to look after the child after birth.
“He was very close to my mother and in his last days, he used to call her asking if she could look after his unborn baby to which my mother willingly said she would.
“Days before he died, we were busy preparing for his wedding. We were getting the house done up for him, getting his room painted.
“I remember calling Beng Hock to ask him just weeks before Chinese New Year what colour he would like for his room.”
Lee Lan also said on the days leading to his tragic death, Beng Hock used to call his mother to ask what food was best suited for his wife during pregnancy.
Asked what were the last words her brother told her before he was found dead, Lee Lan said, “We met on July 11 and July 12 that year for the last time. We were having dinner and Beng Hock was chatting about his coming wedding and happily looking forward to his big day.”
“He and Cher Wei had asked me to help in selecting the wedding gown. He was very cheerful and happy at that time…that was the last time I saw him,” said a tearful Lee Lan.
Saying that she was very close to her brother, Lee Lan recalled with pain how she was just lost for words and felt the world crumbling the day her family had to identify Beng Hock’s body.
“It was very cruel when we were initially told that Beng Hock had committed suicide by jumping off the building.
“Beng Hock was a ‘happy go lucky’ chap and he was a particularly happy man at that time with his wedding and a baby on the way. No one in my family has a history of suicide.”
Asked how life has changed for her since Beng Hock’s death, Lee Lan said it was hard being the family’s spokesperson in court as well as handling the media.
“I was working as an accounts auditor at the time of Beng Hock’s death. I took nine months off to deal with matters pertaining to the court case.
“Now I’m working as a senior executive in a company. When I went for the interview for my current job, I told the management that I would have to take long leave to deal with my brother’s court case. I’m so fortunate that my current bosses understand my situation.
“Although I’m married now, I will still go on fighting for my brother even if it means putting my career on hold”, she said.
This is one sister who truly loved her brother dearly.
PETALING JAYA: The family of Teoh Beng Hock tries to move on and get on with life but his mysterious death still lingers in their mind every single day even four years after he had passed away.
All the family wants now is to seek justice for Beng Hock over his death while in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In this second and final part of an exclusive interview with theantdaily, Beng Hock’s sister Lee Lan admitted that the family still has difficulty in moving on and continues to have sleepless nights over his death.
“We are still fighting no matter how hard it is. The fact that the government tries to cover up the case makes us more determined. We will pursue the matter until we find out exactly what happened to my brother at the MACC office.
“Our lives are still not quite as normal as we have to go to court frequently because there are still two cases pending,” she explained.
“My parents still live in pain. They cannot sleep well as they continue to feel something was missing.
“We try to help them pass the days by taking them to visit my sister in Singapore and Beng Hock’s son and wife in Batu Pahat,” said Lee Lan.
Asked about Beng Hock’s son, Teoh Er Jia, who is now four years old, Lee Lan said he is growing up well and lives with his mother Soh Cher Wei in Johor.
When asked if the boy queried about his father, Lee Lan said, “From his mum, we know when people asked him about what he thinks of his father, he tells them, my father is black.”
“We always wear black badges, t-shirts alongside banners, magazines which have Beng Hock’s photo in the middle whenever we campaign for him. This is how he thinks of his father.”
“When he was one, I remember that Er Jia used to call my elder brother Meng Kee ‘father’. That was during the time when he just started to talk. Whenever Meng Kee came home from work, he would greet him as ‘papa’,” Lee Lan said.
The 33-year-old sister, who is now happily married, also recalled the days Beng Hock went about preparing for his wedding with his then girlfriend Cher Wei.
When he found out that Cher Wei was pregnant, he had asked their mother to look after the child after birth.
“He was very close to my mother and in his last days, he used to call her asking if she could look after his unborn baby to which my mother willingly said she would.
“Days before he died, we were busy preparing for his wedding. We were getting the house done up for him, getting his room painted.
“I remember calling Beng Hock to ask him just weeks before Chinese New Year what colour he would like for his room.”
Lee Lan also said on the days leading to his tragic death, Beng Hock used to call his mother to ask what food was best suited for his wife during pregnancy.
Asked what were the last words her brother told her before he was found dead, Lee Lan said, “We met on July 11 and July 12 that year for the last time. We were having dinner and Beng Hock was chatting about his coming wedding and happily looking forward to his big day.”
“He and Cher Wei had asked me to help in selecting the wedding gown. He was very cheerful and happy at that time…that was the last time I saw him,” said a tearful Lee Lan.
Saying that she was very close to her brother, Lee Lan recalled with pain how she was just lost for words and felt the world crumbling the day her family had to identify Beng Hock’s body.
“It was very cruel when we were initially told that Beng Hock had committed suicide by jumping off the building.
“Beng Hock was a ‘happy go lucky’ chap and he was a particularly happy man at that time with his wedding and a baby on the way. No one in my family has a history of suicide.”
Asked how life has changed for her since Beng Hock’s death, Lee Lan said it was hard being the family’s spokesperson in court as well as handling the media.
“I was working as an accounts auditor at the time of Beng Hock’s death. I took nine months off to deal with matters pertaining to the court case.
“Now I’m working as a senior executive in a company. When I went for the interview for my current job, I told the management that I would have to take long leave to deal with my brother’s court case. I’m so fortunate that my current bosses understand my situation.
“Although I’m married now, I will still go on fighting for my brother even if it means putting my career on hold”, she said.
This is one sister who truly loved her brother dearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.