Pathologist Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim, from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, testifying at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest, said he did not see any strong evidence that indicated the political aides' death was a homicide.

He said his finding was based on four factors. They were:

1. There were no signs of struggle based on injuries suffered by Teoh and based on the evidence gathered at the 14th floor of Plaza Malasam, from where Teoh is believed to have fallen to his death,

2. Checks on Teoh's body revealed no DNA marks from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers and other witnesses,

3. A pen (from MACC) was intact in Teoh's pocket. If there was a struggle, the pen would have been thrown out in the melee, and

4. Injuries suffered by Teoh were caused by a fall from a high place.

Khairul also added that there were no signs of Teoh being suffocated or having had lost his conscious before the fall.

Could it be an accident?

Government appointed lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who is assisting coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, had then asked the doctor if he thought Teoh's death was accidental, based on his opinion formed after looking at Teoh's injuries and visits to the scene of the incident.

To this Khairul said that there were stronger and solid evidence to state that the deceased had an accident.

NONE "This is based on the scene which is the 14th floor. It is difficult for someone who is still conscious to have slipped if he was standing beside the window because the floor is not slippery, it is covered with carpet.

"However, if we want to say that there is a possibility we can still contemplate that because it could have happen when the deceased tried to open the window to the widest and in a sleepy state," said Khairul.

However he added that this argument could also be disputed because "if he slipped, the window shoulder which is at the height of his hips/ waist length, there is a possibility that the deceased fell by other ways".

"His head or body could have fallen first. This is just a possibility," he added.

Signs indicate suicide

Tan had then asked Khairul on the possibility of Teoh committing suicide.

To this, Khairul agreed and said the "signs are more towards suicide".

And his reasons were:

1. There was no blood or any signs of broken things near the window at the 14th floor. Also the pen was intact in Teoh's pocket, indicating that there was no struggle,

2. No DNA marks of any MACC officers on Teoh's body, and

3. Injuries on Teoh's body do not show any signs of struggle but were instead caused by falling from height.

azlan Before going into the specifics of how Teoh had jumped or fallen to his death, Khairul, who was called to Plaza Masalam on July 16 after Teoh's body was found at the 5th floor landing, told the coroner that the DNA findings were relevant in concluding the cause of death.

The political aide had been summoned to the Selangor MACC, located on the 14th floor of the building, on July 15 to give a witness statement. He is believed to fallen from the window located on the same floor.

Khairul said he didn't see any obvious signs of Teoh being "dragged" from the post-mortem report and from his two visits to Plaza Masalam.

However, he noticed there was evidence of friction on the bottom of Teoh's right shoe and similar signs on the cemented ground near Teoh's body.

Khairul conceded that it could have occurred when Teoh had fallen to the ground from high latitude and that Teoh must have landed on his feet slightly towards his right.

He further said that there were no signs anywhere on the 14th floor of the MACC office of Teoh being dragged.

Tan then asked Khairul if the toxicology and DNA findings had any relevance to his theories on Teoh.

Khairul affirmed that the toxicology report clearly indicated that Teoh was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, while the DNA findings showed that the blood stains on Teoh''s body and clothing were his own.

The theory over the unknown DNA samples

The pathologist's statement contradicted with DNA expert Dr Seah Lay Hong of the Chemistry Department, the ninth witness in the inquest, who testified that there was DNA of two unknown males on Teoh's waist belt and at the back of his blazer.

However, she had said despite having tested 157 samples, none matched the sample of the two unknown males.

Khairul said that he believed that the unknown DNA could have been caused by contamination when the autopsy was conducted in the hospital.

Tan: When? When the body of the deceased was taken to the hospital where was it kept?

Khairul: I don't know but before the autopsy was conducted the deceased was still zipped in the black plastic beg which was placed on a trolley and later transferred to the autopsy table.

Tan: Did Teoh have his shirt on before the autopsy?

Khairul: Yes, he had his cloths on.

Tan: Did you do any other post-mortem on Teoh besides the one done on July 17?

Khairul: Not by me, but I know that there were two other autopsies done by other medical officers.

Tan: Are the tables washed and cleaned with disinfectants after post-mortems are completed?

Khairul: It is cleaned with just water, not disinfectants.

Tan: When a body is brought to the table with the clothing on, can there be contamination?

Khairul: Yes, not when the clothing is still on, but in the process of removing the shirt there is a possibility.

Khairul started testifying on Tuesday but was unable to continue with his testimony until today as he had been unwell. He will continue his testimony on Monday.

He had conducted the post-mortem on Teoh jointly with Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Prashnant will also be testifying on Monday.

Related story: Counsel: Suicide theory baseless