Teoh's family wants post-mortem by Thai expert

The family of deceased political aide Teoh Beng Hock today said they will apply for another post-mortem to be carried out by renowned Thai pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand.

Teoh's sister Lee Lan told Malaysiakini that the family hopes that the post-mortem will "reveal the truth" behind her brother's death.

She said the family has been mulling the possibility of a second post-mortem since the start of the inquest, and Pornthip's revelation that there is a "80 percent" probability that Teoh's death was homicide sealed their decision.

"They (the authorities) have undermined her (findings) on the grounds that she did not perform an autopsy," she added.

Lee also explained that the family had initially rejected a second post-mortem soon after Teoh's death because arrangements were already made for his funeral.

"We also did not check his injuries in detail at that time, so we never thought about doing further investigation," she said.

"The second post-mortem issue cannot be allowed to drag too long. As Dr Pornthip said if the body is exhumed sooner, she will able to get more information," she added.

In view of this, Lee said the family hopes that the coroner will make a prompt decision on their application for a fresh post-mortem.

Last week, Porntip had told the inquest that she could arrive at a better conclusion on Teoh's cause of death if she was given the opportunity to conduct a second post-mortem by herself.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that lawyer Gobind Singh Deo ( left ), who is holding a watching brief for the family at the inquest, said Teoh’s family had instructed him to make an application to the coroner to have the body exhumed as soon as possible.

"I have advised them, and they now have decided, that it is significant and important to have the second post-mortem," he told a press conference at Teoh's family home in Taman Seri Kelemak, Alor Gajah.

Gobind said an application for the exhumation and second post-mortem would likely be filed in court tomorrow.

"We have to look at issues about her (Porntip) coming here for the post-mortem, the laws which govern that and where it is to be held, as well as the medical team to help her," he said.

Startling revelations

On Oct 21, Pornthip told the Teoh inquest that the deceased could have been strangled before falling from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

The flamboyant doctor noted that the marks on Teoh's neck indicated the possibility of "manual strangulation".

Furthermore, she pointed out that Teoh's skull fracture was not typical of an injury from a fall.

In another startling revelation, Pornthip ( right ) said the injury to the deceased's anus could have been caused by penetration with an object before his fall.

In view of this, her conclusion is that there is an 80 percent probability that Teoh's death was homicide and 20 percent chance of it being suicide.

Pornthip was testifying as an expert witness at the inquest which is being held to determine the cause of Teoh's death.

She is the director and co-founder of the Thai Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Science and is well-known for investigating controversial homicide cases.

The 54-year-old expert was asked by the Selangor government to testify on the cause of Teoh's death.

Teoh, the 30-year-old political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, had been summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam to be questioned over irregularities in the disbursement of state funds on July 15.

He was found dead the following day on the fifth floor service corridor of the building.

The inquest will continue on Nov 9.