Ahmad Sarbaini’s family and friends at his burial at the Kota Damansara Muslim cemetery in Petaling Jaya on April 7, 2011
Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed’s family may sue the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) if police investigations into his death do not favour the family, a source said today.
The family source also told The Malaysian Insider that police said investigations were almost complete.
“Ahmad Sarbaini’s family will take legal action against the MACC if police investigations do not favour them,” the source said.
“They want to take legal action because they want to claim justice for Ahmad Sarbaini and to clear his name, as there are allegations saying he killed himself,” he added.
The source said the senior Customs officer’s family was currently discussing with their lawyers about suing the national anti-graft body for negligence as well.
The police have not given any information about Ahmad Sarbaini’s cause of death, the source added.
“The police told the family that investigations were 70 per cent finished, but they did not say anything about any new progress,” said the source.
“But I understand that the police have visited Ahmad Sarbaini’s house every day,” he added.
The Selangor Customs assistant director was found dead on the first floor of the MACC Federal Territory office in Jalan Cochrane here on April 6.
MACC investigations director Datuk Mustafar Ali had said Ahmad Sarbaini had returned to the MACC building at 8.26am that day without an appointment and had requested to meet the investigation officer without stating why.
Ahmad Sarbaini had already given his statement to MACC and was released from custody at 12.30pm on April 2.
He had been remanded on March 29 following an MACC-led swoop on a Customs syndicate that it said was worth at least RM3 billion in unpaid taxes, resulting in the arrest of 62 officers.
Mustafar said an officer then accompanied Ahmad Sarbaini to a room in the office before leaving to collect the case file, but found him missing when he returned.
Ahmad Sarbaini’s body was later found on the badminton court on the first floor, but his friends have said it was impossible that he had committed suicide over the MACC investigations.
The 56-year-old Customs officer was believed to have fallen out of the building’s third-floor window.
The source said today that Ahmad Sarbaini’s family was stressed as several parties, including the media, have said the senior Customs officer had received bribes and committed suicide.
“That is not true. Ahmad Sarbaini could not have done that,” said the source.
Ahmad Sarbaini left his wife Maziah Manap, 50, and five children.
When contacted, a lawyer for Ahmad Sarbaini’s family refused to comment and said he would wait until police investigations were completed.
“I will not say anything. Let the police do investigations first,” Ghazali Mohd Ramli told The Malaysian Insider.
“If I say anything, I’m afraid that it will disrupt police investigations,” he added.
Ghazali also said he has given new evidence, which he did not name, to the police that may help determine if Ahmad Sarbaini had committed suicide.
It was reported yesterday that the police has taken statements from 40 people.
Ahmad Sarbaini’s death came during an ongoing royal commission of inquiry into the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock outside an MACC office in 2009.
Teoh, 30, had plunged from the then-Selangor MACC headquarters on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after he was questioned overnight by anti-graft officers.
