SHAH ALAM, Oct 25 — The Attorney General’s support would boost the chances for the body of dead political aide Teoh Beng Hock to be exhumed for a second autopsy to confirm a foreign forensic expert’s view that he was murdered.
Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is acting for Teoh’s family in the inquest probing the circumstances surrounding the death, told reporters the coroner’s consent must be given first before the second autopsy can take place.
But Gobind pointed out that the Attorney General’s (AG) support was crucial to get the coroner’s okay.
“If we have the support from the Attorney General, it would be easier,” Gobind told reporters after filing an application to exhume Teoh’s body for a second opinion by renowned Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand.
The lawyer noted there were various “legal difficulties” in bringing in a foreign pathologist to conduct the autopsy but declined to explain.
He said he would clarify them before the coroner’s court, which he hopes will take place within the week.
But Gobind added that Dr Pornthip may face “technical” challenges in getting a place, equipment and extra hands to perform the autopsy.
Gobind noted that if the AG objects or fails to cooperate, then the family and Teoh’s employer, the Selangor state would have the bear the brunt of providing for a second autopsy.
“It would involve a lot of cost to us,” he said, and added that he will call up the AG’s lawyer who has been aiding the coroner in the inquest, for help.
“I’m confident that Mr Tan Hock Chuan will lend his support, but to what extent, I don’t know. I will speak with him first,” said Gobind.
He added that a certificate of urgency had also been filed, together with an affidavit from Teoh’s elder brother, Meng Kee, to persuade the coroner to expedite the exhumation process.
Gobind said he expects to hear from the coroner within the week.
He believes that Dr Pornthip will be able to carry out the post-mortem early next month.
He noted that Dr Pornthip, who is the director-general of the forensic science institute in Bangkok, is slated to return to Kuala Lumpur for a conference in November.
Teoh’s siblings, elder brother Meng Kee and younger sister Lee Lan, who were also present at the court complex here today, told reporters they have spoken with a fengshui expert for a suitable date to exhume his body.
According to Chinese custom, a special ceremony needs to be performed first before his body can be dug up, the siblings explained.
They have also asked for advice from the cemetary managers at Nirvana Memorial Garden in Semenyih, but stressed that the next move hinged on the coroner’s decision.
Magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner in the inquest, had previously indicated that a second autopsy held more than three months after death may impact the findings due to the natural decomposition of the body.
But Gobind noted that Dr Pornthip had testified in the coroner’s court that it was still viable within the first six months of death.
The lawyer stressed that both the lawyers for the AG and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had previously tried to discount Dr Pornthip’s expert evidence on the fact that she had not seen Teoh’s body first-hand but relied instead on the records provided by local forensic experts, including the two pathologists who autopsied him in July.
The second autopsy was necessary to enable Dr Pornthip to get a first-hand look at the body and confirm her initial analysis, Gobind explained.
Engaged by the Selangor state government, she told the coroner’s court that Teoh’s death was “80 per cent homicide”.
Dr Pornthip, who had performed over 10,000 autopsies in her career, added that Teoh’s injuries at the anal region and neck showed a high chance he was sodomised and strangled before his fatal plunge on July 16.
She also said she would like the chance to autopsy Teoh.
Pathologist from two local hospitals who carried out the first autopsy on Teoh concluded that he committed suicide, which the family refuses to accept because he was due to marry his pregnant fiancee the same day he was found dead.
Gobind added that he would apply for the two pathologists, Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang and Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar attached to Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, to be present with Dr Pornthip at the second autopsy, once he gets the coroner’s nod to exhume Teoh’s body.
The 30-year-old political secretary to Selangor executive councillor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on a 5th floor landing at Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 16.
He was hauled up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to their office on the 14th floor of the building the day before to help investigations into alleged misuse of state allocations by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state lawmakers.
By MACC’s own admission, Teoh was only a “witness” to their investigations.
They have denied any responsibility for his death and maintained he was released earlier that morning.
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