The family of missing detainee G Francis Udayappan have been denied permission to transfer a body from the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre to the National Institute of Forensic Science (NISF) in order to perform a DNA test.

In a letter to the family's lawyer N Surendran on Aug 2, the police claimed that the Attorney-General's Chambers had denied the transfer due to security reasons.

"I received a letter from ACP Hassan Jagar from the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department denying our request to transfer the body," said the lawyer ( photo, right ) when contacted today.

According to him, NISF forensic specialists have agreed to extract a sample from the body for DNA testing to establish if the remains is that of Francis.

On July 20, the A-G Chambers authorised the family to conduct an independent DNA test after the two carried out by the police, with blood samples from Francis' mother G Sara Lily ( photo, left ) and her estranged husband, did not reveal a match.

Despite this, Sara has insisted that the body is that of her son based on a tattoo and tooth deformity.

Family upset

Since obtaining the green light from the AG chambers, the family has been having problems acquiring the services of a medical specialist to conduct the test.

Surendran said NIFS agreed to do it only if the body was transferred to their premises.

Contacted later, an NIFS official confirmed that they can only conduct the procedure if the body is brought to their premises but did not elaborate why this was so.

Surendran said he also made a request to the UMMC to extract DNA samples in the presence of witnesses but has yet to receive a reply.

"UMMC has not responded to our letter dated July 30 and follow - up telephone calls asking their very own pathologists to remove a DNA sample from the body in front of witnesses.

"The family is very upset that they are still unable to carry out the independent DNA test. The police and hospital are preventing us from doing so," said the lawyer.

The family has repeatedly accused UUMC of colluding with the police to allegedly cover-up Francis' death.

The 24-year-old VCD trader, who was arrested on suspicion of petty theft, was said to have escaped from the Brickfields police headquarters on April 16 by jumping into the nearby Klang river.

However, Sara claimed that her son was beaten to death and dumped into the river. A police inquiry later ruled out any foul play.

On May 25, the highly decomposed remains of a man was retrieved from the Klang river and since then the family and the police have been crossing swords.

A judicial inquest has been scheduled for Aug 10 to hear the matter.