Malaysia

MACC removes ‘offensive’ blog post attacking Dr Pornthip

“MACC has neither demonstrated any remorse or regret in its deeds,” said Pua, adding that the agency seemed to be interested in discrediting witnesses at the inquest instead of determining the truth behind Teoh’s death which has caused a public uproar.

The blog post accused Dr Pornthip of lacking the courage to say outright that Teoh was murdered as she purportedly “did not have any evidence to support her assumptions”.

It also questioned Dr Pornthip about purportedly changing her earlier testimony that Teoh’s death was 80 per cent homicide to saying that he did not commit suicide, although she was not a psychiatrist.

Lawyer for the Teoh family Gobind Singh Deo slammed MACC for showing “complete and utter disrespect for the coroner” by posting the article on their official blog.

“It goes beyond prejudicial; it is highly offensive,” said Gobind, adding that the article signalled a “highly embarrassing” act of desperation on the part of the MACC.

MACC lawyer Datuk Abdul Razak Musa had relentlessly attacked Dr Pornthip’s qualifications and testimony at the inquest recently to the point of asking the forensic expert if Teoh could have strangled himself, sparking an immediate retort from Gobind who asked Abdul Razak to demonstrate it.

Gobind, also the Puchong MP, said that he would still raise the matter at the next hearing although MACC has removed the blog post.

The blog post, which can now be found at www.imrite.wordpress.com, also questioned why Dr Pornthip testified only after four experts had testified, and alleged that this “arrangement” could have been done to give the impression that she was more qualified than them.

“Is she really a forensic expert, psychiatric expert, DNA expert or merely a fortune-teller?” stated the article.

Gobind said that the article was “highly incorrect” and challenged MACC to make their statements during the inquest.

 “If you (MACC) have something to say, say it in court in front of us,” said the lawyer.

Dr Pornthip maintained at the hearing last week that Teoh’s death was not a suicide due to pre-fall injuries although she declined to repeat her previous assertion that it was 80 per cent homicide.

The forensic pathologist also testified that her institute mandated strict protocol in handling evidence like documents, such as conducting fingerprint dusting and DNA testing immediately after discovery.

This caused Gobind and Selangor government lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar to question the integrity of the new evidence the Attorney-General’s Chambers is trying to tender, widely speculated to be a suicide note, ten months after it was allegedly found.

The 30-year-old political secretary to Selangor state councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah was found dead July 16 last year on a fifth-floor landing at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, nine floors below the MACC’s Selangor then headquarters.

He had been interrogated overnight by anti-graft officers probing claims his boss was misusing state funds.