The lawyer representing the mother of missing detainee Francis G Udayappan had his application to question witnesses thrown out by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court at the start of a three-day inquest into the high-profile case.

In his decision, Magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham - acting in the capacity of a coroner - ruled that the presence of G Sara Lily's lawyer, and also the Bar Council's, would only be to hold watching briefs and not to act as legal representatives.

M Puravelan ( photo, left ), in requesting that he be allowed to question witnesses, had earlier submitted that his client, Sara, had a "reasonable and substantial interest in the inquest as she has made a positive identification of the body in question as that of her son Udayappan."

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ishak Mohamed Yusof, however, objected to the request.

In ruling that both Puravelan and the Bar Council's representative Amer Hamzah Arshad did not have "the outright privilege to ask questions and examine witnesses" during the inquest, Nazran said: "We are here to identify the cause of death of the deceased (whose) identity is yet to be determined conclusively.

"It is through this inquest, we are here to resolve this question mark. I cannot say for sure that Sara falls under the category of an interested person," he said.

'Criminal proceeding'

The inquest is being held to determine the identity of a highly decomposed body lying at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) morgue - found on May 23 - and as well to determine the deceased's cause of death.

Sara has long claimed that her son G Francis Udayappan died while in police custody and his body dumped in the Klang River. Police, however, allege that he had jumped into the river when escaping from the Brickfields police lock-up.

A DNA test conducted by the police using Sara's blood and bone marrow sample and with a similar sample taken from the body in UMMC has failed to reveal a match.

The Attorney-General's Chambers has since allowed her request for an independent DNA test to be conducted but she has faced problems in doing so.

The magistrate's ruling and the DPP's case presentation drew flak from several human rights organisation representatives who had accompanied Sara and her family members who were seen crying at various stages of the proceedings.

"The inquest is meant to be into the identity of the body and the reasons of death but here the DPP seems to be making it into a criminal proceeding against Francis," said S Arutchelvan coordinator with Malaysian human rights group Suaram, who was present at the inquest.

Two witnesses

The inquest proceedings started off with DPP Ishak calling the first two of his 15 witnesses in his bid to ascertain the circumstances of Francis' alleged escape.

The two questioned today were the police officer who arrested Francis on April 14 and the officer who claimed to be interrogating the 24-year-old when he allegedly escaped.

Sergeant Major Chew Choon Peng, the first witness, related the events on April 14 when along with a group of police officers, he nabbed Francis on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle.

Chew, an officer from the criminal division of the Brickfields district headquarters, said Francis was arrested at his home in Kampung Dato' Sena, Sentul at 12.30pm after he ran computer check on the vehicle's chassis number, which was reportedly stolen.

A second witness, also a police officer from the Brickfields police station, related how Francis had escaped while being interrogated two days later on April 16.

He claimed that Francis had been left alone with him on the first floor while his partner was meeting a superior on the third floor.

"The detainee insisted on going to the toilet because he had to vomit. I allowed it, and in front the toilet - behind the interrogation room - I removed the handcuffs from his right hand so that he could wash up after he had finished," said the policemen when answering questions from the DPP.

The officer then said he was pushed to the ground by Francis, who ran towards a balcony and jumped out of the building with the handcuffs was still hanging from his left hand.

He said Francis was dressed in the police lock-up's distinctive pink T-shirt.

"I was in a daze as I had hit my head but proceeded to give chase by jumping out of the first floor while shouting for help from my colleagues," he added.

The inquest continues tomorrow at 11.30am.