The family of ­the late Dr Sebastian Joseph has a lot to be angry about.

Sebastian, who served with a government clinic in Langkawi, was found dead in his quarters on Nov 17, 2010. He was 30 years old at that time.

His autopsy was conducted at Langkawi Hospital but the person in charge concluded that Sebastian's cause of death could not be ascertained.

Sebastian's family spent the next five years jumping through legal hoops to secure a second autopsy.

When the second autopsy was finally conducted, on March 17, 2015, the family's worse fears were confirmed - the first autopsy conducted at Langkawi Hospital was botched.

The second autopsy was conducted by Universiti Malaya's Department of Pathology professor Dr Kasinathan Nadesan and Australian consultant forensic pathologist Dr Richard Byron Collins at the UM Medical Centre.

'Grossly substandard procedure'

Collins in his report noted: "The dilemma concerning the determination of the cause of death is undoubtedly as a direct consequence of the inadequacy of the initial post-mortem examination.

"The quality of this procedure was, at best, grossly substandard and, in this day and age, entirely unacceptable.

"In my over 40 years of experience in forensic pathology, this particular autopsy is in the lowest standard grouping."

It was discovered that several organs were not dissected or examined in the first autopsy while those that were, such as the heart and coronary arteries, were not properly done.

Both doctors in the second autopsy believe Sebastian suffered a heart attack but differ on whether it was the definitive cause of death due to the different toxicology results, one done in Malaysia and another in Australia.

The toxicology results by the Victorian Institute Forensic Medicine's Department of Toxicology found the presence of synthetic chemicals and Collins said it was important for an investigation to determine how it got into the deceased's body.

'Should be regarded a suspicious death'

"Quite simply, this death should be regarded as a suspicious death, until all satisfactory investigations have been completed by the appropriate authorities.

"It would be a travesty, in my opinion, if it was assigned to natural causes in the present state of its incompleteness, and an injustice to both the deceased and his family," Collins said.

The next course of action would be an inquest, which was already granted by the Alor Setar High Court on Jan 7, 2015, when it instructed that Sebastian's body be exhumed for the second autopsy.

However, the six-year legal effort to find closure in Sebastian's death has put a considerable financial strain on his family.

The inquest, which would require Sebastian's family to further engage legal representation, has yet to proceed to date.

Sebastian's only sibling, Anthony, hopes that his family can receive closure on whether there was foul play involved.

He said the police did not take seriously when leads and concerns about foul play were raised by the family.

"I have reasons to believe that the death of Sebastian was more than just a sudden or natural death.

"I'm also disappointed in the manner in which the police handled this case from day one," said the 32-year-old younger brother.

Anthony claimed his brother had previously complained about missing medication at his workplace.

He would like his day in court, Anthony added, to highlight the details he found troubling.

Malaysiakini has contacted Langkawi Hospital and is awaiting response.