Two DNA tests conducted by the police revealed that a highly decomposed body left to rot in a hospital morgue is not that of missing detainee G Francis Udayappan. But his mother claims otherwise.

Therefore if the tests are accurate then the question begs, whose body is it? A judicial inquest scheduled on Aug 10 will seek to answer this.

But there's another problem. How effective can the inquest be when the family has either yet to be officially informed nor invited to give their testimonies?

The police, who fished out the body from the murky waters of Klang river on May 23, suspected that it was Francis and called in his mother to identify it.

Now put yourself in G Sara Lily's shoes. Imagine the mixture of relief and anguish when told that the remains of her 24-year-old son had been found more than a month after he had allegedly escaped from police custody.

Despite believing that her son was a victim of police brutality, she rushed off to Universiti Malaya Medical Centre with the hope of giving her only son a decent burial.

This, however, was not to be.

Positive identification

Initially she failed to make an identification as the body was covered in mud and dirt. Probably the stench of decaying flesh and the shock of seeing a severely bruised and battered body was just too much to bear.

On her second attempt, she made a positive identification based on a tattoo of an angel on the left shoulder, a peculiarity in the denture and the underwear which she had purchased for her son.

One would expect a mother, who after raising her son for more than two decades, would be able to recognise him without a shred of doubt. She of all people would know better.

But the police were not convinced and insisted on a DNA test. Two were carried out with blood samples from the mother and her estranged husband. None matched.

It is now Aug 7, 114 days since Francis disappeared, 74 days since the body was found , and Sara is still left in limbo.

The lady, who is convinced that the remains lying in the morgue is that of her son, has tried in vain to have it released to her.

No clear cut scenarios

Even her appeals to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the country's 'kind and sensitive' leader, has fallen on deaf ears.

She has also accused UMMC and the police of collusion in denying her access to post-mortem reports and DNA tests reports.

There seems to be only two clear cut scenarios in this case. The inquest must reach either one.

If the remains is not that of Francis, can the police then state whose is it? Do the police have another missing detainee on record? Others who escaped by diving into the infamous Klang river perhaps?

The identity must satisfy the following: Indian male in mid twenties, tattoo of angel on left shoulder, deformed teeth and from the post mortem reports, in the river for a certain time frame.

If it is Francis then how can two highly scientific DNA tests come up inconclusive? Perhaps he was adopted, some may suggest.

And if he is alive wouldn't he have tried to contact his grieving mother or why has he not been re-arrested when detainees who broke out from a lock-up in Puchong recently were swiftly rounded up?

On the same note, if he is alive, why would his mother be still frantically running around with her accusations? A large-scale conspiracy, perhaps, a shot at fame, maybe or just her insatiable desire to irk the cops?

The police have not done much to ease the tension either. Their lack of cooperation leads many to smell a rat. So was Francis really beaten to death and his body dumped into the river?

Track record

Well the mother, lawyers and human rights groups surely seem to think so and based on the facts of the case, and the track record of the Malaysian police, can you really blame them?

A poignant word in this whole saga is independency. There needs to be an absolutely independent body to investigate the claims of police murders.

The royal police commission has come under criticism of not being reflective of this ideal as it is made up of ex-cops and members of the judiciary.

There is also a need for an independent medical institution to allow families copies of post mortem reports and DNA tests without asking permission from the police.

As one renowned Malaysian human rights lawyer, R Sivarasa, said: "If you're sick, you're entitled to your medical report, if you die your entitlement is transferred to your next of kin so your medical report, this time a post mortem report goes to your family."

Coming back to Francis, the lad was arrested on suspicion of stealing a mobile phone and in possession of a stolen motorcycle.

Why not shoot?

The police claimed he escaped while being led to an interrogation room. Now, one wonders how this kid managed to overpower a bunch of armed policemen.

Now if I remember correctly, the police have the right to shoot at fleeing suspects below, and let me stress, below the knee in order to capture them. Why didn't the Brickfields cops resort to this instead of chasing him on foot.

Brickfields police chief Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin said Francis, who does not know how to swim as claimed by his mother, jumped off the first floor of the police station and squeezed through a hole in the fence before jumping into the nearby river.

Sara also claimed that prior to this, she had managed to settle the case with the complainant upon the advice of a police officer who told her that it was a petty matter..

She also informed Francis of this when he called her from the police station. Now the question here is, would you escape knowing that your case has been closed.

"My son's last words were: Take care of my wife Nalini," recounted his distraught mother.