Where did Gobind learn law?

Gobind Singh Deo

The counsel that is representing the family of Political-Aide-to-Selangor-Exco-Ean-Yong Teoh Beng Hock in the Coroner’s Inquest to determine the cause of the death of the 30 year old former journalist, Gobind Singh Deo took the ongoing proceedings to different turn today. Gobind spoke to journalist with an angry tone about the so-called “suicide note” that was discovered two months after Teoh turn up dead on the side of Plaza Masalam.

Channel News Asia’s story:

Suicide note reportedly found in political aide’s bag 2 months after his death

By Melissa Goh | Posted: 10 August 2010 1833 hrs 

	Photos 1 of 1 Kuala Lumpur Court Complex

KUALA LUMPUR : There’s a new twist to the on-going inquest over the mysterious death of a Malaysian opposition political aide.

It was revealed on Tuesday that a suicide note was reportedly found in Teoh Beng Hock’s bag two months after his death.

Renowned Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand had earlier testified that there was an 80 per cent chance that Teoh’s death was a homicide based on photographic evidence of deep bruises around his neck.

She is due to take the stand again next week. It is unclear how the new evidence – a suicide note said to be handwritten by Teoh in Chinese – could affect her testimony.

But Teoh’s family counsel has threatened to cite Attorney General Abdul Gani Pattail for contempt for suppressing evidence that could have changed the entire course of the inquest.

Gobind Singh Deo, Teoh’s family lawyer, said: “It’s not for Gani Pattail to sit in his office and to decide whether it’s authentic. It’s for the court to decide and they should have produced it a long time ago.

“One of the issues that the court ought to have determined is whether or not it’s authentic. Someone has to take the responsibility of this; someone has to own up to this – how does the family take this? Another inquest? They want to get on, they want to get on with their lives.”

The Attorney General (AG) has denied the charge, adding that he needed time to verify the authenticity of the note.

The note, according to the AG’s Chambers, was found in Teoh’s bag two months after his death and was sent for examination last October. Since then it has been kept under wraps.

While it is anyone’s guess why the AG has chosen this moment to introduce the evidence one year on, the move has drawn flak from opposition leaders, including Anwar Ibrahim who is desperately trying to fend off his own second sodomy charge.

Opposition leader Anwar said: “I am annoyed. In my case, it’s been made a major political battle. But this is a life of somebody, somebody’s life – a young man, smart, due to get married very soon, hauled up by MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) and decided, ‘no I’m going to kill myself’ – there must be a reason.”

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Dr Pornthip’s testimony next Wednesday.

– CNA/al

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It seems that the counsel acting on behalf of the Teoh family is playing politic and using legal proceedings as his own political-media circus. The DAP MP for Puchong is using any opportunity within the proceeding to ‘demonise’ any of the law enforcement agencies, namely the MACC, the Police or Attorney General’s Chambers. This part of an on going systematic attempt of the anti-Malay DAP to ‘demonise’ all Malay controlled law enforcement agencies.

The attack against Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail is deemed political than anything else. As a DAP politician-lawyer, Gobind like his father will use to the maximum (from the legal standpoint being spun into delivering a political agenda) every opportunity to ‘demonise’ high profile law enforcement individuals like Gani, especially in high profile but highly controversial case like the sodomy case against Anwar “Mat King Leather” Ibrahim.

The fact is that the so-called “suicide note” has been tendered when the proceeding is still ongoing is actually acceptable. The Coroner’s Inquest has not concluded yet, hence what ever that is needed to be produced or testified in court is stilll admissible to be tendered for the Coroner to determine Teoh Beng Hock’s ‘sudden death’.

If the AG said that he needed to be convinced that the “suicide note” was genuine before tendering into the on going proceeding. He admitted the authenticity of the ‘suicide note’ was verified by experts, especially casting the doubt out from the analysis of the paper deemed ‘unimportant’ when first discovered. It is clear that AG Gani is producing what ever needed to be produced on an ‘as is’ basis.

How Gobind approached the case had always been double standard, from day one. In the beginning, the manner he approached being a counsel for the Teoh family could be seen as trying to ‘cover up’ what ever Teoh spilled to the MACC officers the night before his death against probable relationship or even involvement of DAP Leaders probably such as Selangor State Government Exco Ean Yong and Ronnie  Liu in variable corrupt parctices, which include the ‘Lords of the Underworld Vices’.

Then in the case of Dr Pornthip, the eccentric Thai pathologist who had been appointed by the Selangor State Government to give an opinion of the sudden death case came up with an opinion that “Teoh had an 80% chance of being murdered”, by just looking at the photographs. The controversy, of course with Gobind playing it up in court to an overwhelming point that the Coroner ordered Teoh’s body be exhumed for a second autopsy on 22 November 2009.

After Sg. Buloh Chief Pathologist Dr Shahidan Md Noor did a second autopsy on Teoh’s remains, observed by eminent British pathologist Dr Peter Vanezis and Dr Pornthip Rojasunand found that Teoh’s sudden death was not caused by murder and Dr Vanezis concluded this finding, the Thai pathologist was very reluctant to testify her own findings. The drama begins. It was suggested that Dr Pornthip testified via CCTV from Thailand for fear of her life and Gobind actually concluded to this ‘sandiwara’.

How come Gobind tolerated Dr Pornthip’s ‘drama’ stretching it as far possible as he could but the moment AG Ghani produced a new evidence that would shed the light on Teoh’s ‘sudden death’, he started to attack on the latter’s attempt and explanation? Isn’t Gobind’s presence in court is to represent Teoh’s family in finding out the truth how their son died?

So if AG Ghani’s new evidence could shed the light better, Gobind should be very supportive in discovering the truth instead of throwing tantrums around against it.

This is what The Star reported:

Handwriting expert may be asked to analyse Teoh’s purported suicide note

Malaysian Bar Council reiterates call for a Royal Commission of Enquiry to investigate Teoh Beng Hock’s death, saying that the suppression of evidence is against the fundamental tenet of the criminal justice system

PETALING JAYA: Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said he is considering getting a handwriting expert to analyse the writing in a purported suicide note written by Teoh Beng Hock.

He said the option was one of the various possibilities being studied, following the Attorney-General’s chamber implying in a statement Monday that the “suicide note,” which was first found inside Teoh’s sling bag more than two months after his death in July last year, was only recently considered as possible evidence.

On other possible courses of action, Gobind, who is the counsel for Teoh’s family in the inquest into the death of the political aide, declined comment.

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Either Gobind is playing politics with this or he really attended a lousy law school. Had he read law in a reputable school, he would not support Dr Pornthip’s theatrics and waste court’s valuable time and sooner come to a conclusion of Teoh’s ‘sudden death’. As someone who is supposed to represent the interest of the Teoh family, then he should welcome AG Ghani’s recent revelation of the ‘suicide note’ and push to validate the authenticity instead of mocking the newly presented item within the proceeding, which the law stipulate is not contravening the process of finding the truth in this Coroner’s Inquest.

If Gobind is really out to find the truth for the Teoh family, then he should not behave as if he is being a typical DAP Opposition in this closely watched inquest. Probably Gobind subscribed to counsel appointed to represent the Selangor State Government in this inquest, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar who said “If this was produced earlier, we would have changed how to dealt with the case”. This inquest is not about politics. It is all about a legal process to clearly determine whether Teoh’s life was taken by someone or by his own conduct. Proper education in law enable Gobind to define his role in this.

Then again, DAP is and had been the ‘politics of hate’, specifically against the Malay controlled agencies. Regardless how properly educated the leaders are, they are ‘religious’ for the cause to distablize the Malay majority Government, so that minority like Gobind is able to rise above the distabilized and probably chaotic situation.

More of DAP-style theatrics is expected from Gobind in the proceeding.