Teoh inquest - Gobind grills pathologist on suicide theory

Teoh inquest Gobind grills pathologist on suicide theory

Tags: Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim | Gobind Singh Deo | inquest | Teoh Beng Hock death

Written by Chua Sue-Ann

Friday, 14 August 2009 15:05

SHAH ALAM: Government pathologist Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim faced intense grilling from lawyer Gobind Singh Deo over the doctor's theory that political secretary Teoh Beng Hock likely had committed suicide.

Khairul, who is Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang's senior consultant pathologist, earlier told the inquest that there were indications that Teoh's death was likely from suicide rather than homicide or an accident.

Gobind, who was acting on behalf of Teoh's family in the inquest, interrogated Khairul at length on specifics of how Teoh could be said to have taken his own life.

Gobind: Tell us how he (Teoh) came out of the window, based on the position of the body.
Khairul: To be specific, it is quite difficult.
Gobind: Unless he is assisted by others?
Khairul: I beg your pardon?
Gobind: I'll come back to that later.
Khairul: In my opinion, from the body's position, he just climbed out of the window and jumped.
Gobind: Good. Now I have questions for you. If he did, wouldn't there be shoe prints on the window frame?
Khairul: I suppose yes.
Gobind: Must be, ya? ... There was a flat plane. He cannot stand on the wall ... Your theory is, he stood and then he jumped. But there are no shoe prints, so end of your theory lah.

Khairul then surprised the inquest by climbing out of the witness box, legs first, to demonstrate how Teoh may have climbed out without leaving any shoe prints.

In reply, Gobind said Khairul's theory had been "demolished" because police forensic earlier told the inquest that no hand or shoe prints were found near the window.

Gobind: It was not a suicide, isn't it true? Let's be frank, let's be fair. This means your theory comes to naught. You are wrong. Twenty seconds and you haven't answered me.
Khairul: Maybe...
Gobind: Focus. You are wrong. Your theory was based on facts and those facts don't exist. So, wrong.
Khairul: I don't really agree.

Teoh, an aide to Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 after overnight questioning at the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) office at Plaza Masalam here.

Teoh, 30, was a witness in the anti-graft body's probe into alleged misuse of allocations by several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen.

Khairul, who had examind Teoh's body at the scene before the post mortem, said he did not measure or order measurement of the distance of Teoh's body from the building's wall.

He however agreed to Gobind's suggestion that it was "good to have done it".

Gobind also questioned Khairul on Teoh's dislodged left shoe, which showed minimal signs of damage from purported impact.

Khairul opined that the shoe could have come off during the fall but later agreed to Gobind's suggestion that it could possibly have been thrown out of the window after the body had fallen.

Gobind: Did you test the shoe for fingerprints?
Khairul: No.
Gobind: Is it significant?
Khairul: Yes.
Gobind: Why not? You can direct someone.You are the forensic expert.
Khairul: I expected the police to do it.
Gobind: But you didn't because it would have indicated a homicide. Did you want to cover up?
Khairul: I don't want to cover up.

Khairul also said he did not check the dislodged left shoe for points of impact, maintaining there was a "big likelihood" that the impact did not leave any marks because Teoh had fallen with more emphasis on his right leg.

Gobind: What kind of check did you do?
Khairul: Visual check.
Gobind: And you didn't see anything significant? Doesn't that tell you it is likely not impact? If that shoe comes off due to impact it must have been pretty strong impact. There should be a mark. In this case, your visual examination (did not detect it)?
Khairul: Yes.
Gobind: So your theory (that shoe was dislodged during fall) is finished.

Gobind: What was the body weight?
Khairul: About 70kg.
Gobind: How high was it from the fifth floor to the 14th floor? Estimation?
Khairul: Nine storeys.
Gobind: What kind of impact?
Khairul: Strong impact.
Gobind: There must be marks on the shoe. Your visual examination of the shoe found no scratch marks. So your theory is gone.
Khairul: Need a very thorough examination.
Gobind: Did you direct such an examination?
Khairul: I didn't.
Gobind: So you are coming to court and giving us theories. Not good enough.

Khairul is scheduled to return to the stand on Monday to answer questions from Gobind, Selangor state government's counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and the Malaysian Bar Council's lawyers.

On Monday afternoon, University Malaya Medical Centre pathologist Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar will give evidence on the post mortem he performed with Khairul.

#Flash* Umno picks Rohaizat Othman as Permatang Pasir candidate< Prev		Next >Reporter does not know Karpal is from DAP

Last Updated on Friday, 14 August 2009 18:44

Sorry, you cannot post a comment unless you are a registered user.

JComments

Categories

Other Publications & Pullouts