Your feature on the Francis Udayappan case very aptly summarises the facts as reported so far. And there are now one or two very pertinent points which the police need to answer.

Firstly, the body that was fished out - after over a month of Francis' purported escape into the Klang River - would hardly be identifiable if it had been in the river for so long.

If not for the natural decomposition of the body, the rats and insects, maggots and fishes and crocodiles too would have made a nice meal out of him within the first couple of days, I would presume.

That so much of the body was left intact that even tattoo marks of an angel is there to be seen suggests to me that the body was not really in the water for all that time.

The body was also found wearing a police lock-up T-shirt. I presume they don't sell such T-shirts at Petaling Street or for that matter at any pasar malam. Now, since that T-shirt on that body originated out of a police station, have the police reported having lost any other remand or lock-up prisoners?

Surely, if that body was not that of Francis, then surely they must at least be able to tell us who else they have lost? It does not matter that such a person might be dead, alive, in hiding, or whatever. But I do know that up until now, the police have not reported having lost anyone other than Francis since the whole Francis episode began.

The sad thing is that these hard questions may not be asked at the coroner's inquest into his death scheduled for today. What is the inquest supposed to determine? That that person is dead? That he died by drowning? That that person is not Francis?

If that be the case, can the inquest also inquire into who else escaped from police custody during that time? And if so, why has this had not been reported?

To me, this is just going to be another sandiwara. The fact that a public health institution is allegedly working in cahoots with the police over this matter clearly outlines the reason why Anwar Ibrahim cannot entrust his life with our local health practitioners.