Coroner sets Aug 18 for Pornthip's testimony

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas has allowed Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand to testify on Aug 18 in the ongoing Teoh Beng Hock inquest.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo - who is holding a watching brief for Teoh's family and mentioning on behalf of Selangor government counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar - withdrew his application for her to testify via video conferencing.

Instead, he applied for Pornthip (left) to testify in the coroner's court, which Azmil allowed this morning. 

Gobind said he had received a letter from Pornthip yesterday, stating her willingness to testify in person now that the Thai authorities have issued clearance , based on a request by the Selangor government which has hired her.

"She has received the green light from the Justice Ministry and is willing to come and testify," said Gobind.

It was previously reported that Pornthip, who was engaged in a government-to-government arrangement between Bangkok and Shah Alam, had bowed out of testifying due to "political pressure".

Members of Teoh's family, including his sister, brother and parents, were in court today. His mother Teng Shuw Hui (right) held a photo of him throughout the proceedings.

His sister Lee Lan told reporters outside the court that they hope everything will go well after this, and that Pornthip would be able to testify without hindrance.

"We hope she will come forward to give us an explanation and speak out for my brother," she said.

"When she said she could not come, many people were disappointed. Many asked me about this. The public don't want the case to be unsolved. They want justice to be done."

Asked why her mother has been holding the photo during the inquest, Lee Lan said the family wants Teoh to 'witness' the proceedings.

"We want Beng Hock to see whether the coroner and witnesses are telling the truth. We want him to hear every word in the inquest.

"If anyone in the court killed him, he (Teoh) can hear what the murderer says. We want Beng Hock to see, to listen, to attend his inquest."

More witnesses? 

Azmil also fixed July 23 for continuation of the inquest, to call other witnesses including Kajang municipal councillor Tan Boon Wah and the investigating officer ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal.

The coroner will also decide on whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) head of legal affairs Abdul Razak Musa can call possibly six other witnesses.

Among them are two contractors who had been called in by the Selangor MACC on the night of July 15 last year, while Teoh was being questioned at the Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

Teoh was questioned as a witness over alleged irregularities in the disbursement of state allocations by his employer and exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah.

However, Teoh's body was found on the fifth-floor verandah of the building the next afternoon.

The other four witnesses are from companies mentioned in invoices retrieved from Teoh's laptop.

The companies have been identified as Fizami Construction Sdn Bhd, Aris Enterprise Sdn Bhd, MKMN Enterprise Sdn Bhd, and MA Bina Melor Sdn Bhd.

Abdul Razak said the testimony of the four representatives would be  vital in determining Teoh's state of mind, but Gobind objected to the relevancy of this.

Abdul Razak also said the MACC has recorded statements from the four and that copies had been submitted to Azmil.

This led to an exchange with Gobind on the possibility that the MACC was trying to 'influence' Azmil in giving him the statements without extending copies to the lawyers.

Azmil clarified that he had not received such statements and that he had only been given a letter on the anti-graft body's position on the witnesses.

Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan (right) , representing the government and assisting in the inquest, also questioned the relevancy of calling the additional witnesses.

He suggested that the court should direct Ahmad Nazri to record the statements of the four company representatives.

Azmil agreed and issued the order.

He said he would read the statements to determine their relevancy and then decide whether the four should be called. He will also read the contractors' statements before making a similar decision.