Fresh evidence in the form of autopsy reports of Noor Azman Othman and Aidi Noor Hafizal Othman - two siblings who had been shot dead by cops last year - disputes official police accounts that it took place during a shootout, claims PKR.

NONE "The autopsy reports show that the gunshot wounds on the bodies of both brothers was caused by shots fired from a downward angle, if it was in a direct shootout as claimed by police, the wounds would have been at a direct angle from the front," argued party vice-president N Surendran ( left ) at a press conference n Petaling Jaya today.

He said that the reports were only obtained in February this year, after a long battle with hospital authorities to release them, almost a year since the brothers had been shot in April last year.

He argued further that the angle of the shots as posited by the reports, and marks of the injuries on both siblings clearly dispute the police accounts that they died in a shootout, but that they had been taken alive and then shot dead instead.

"They must (have) been kneeling or on the ground. Police must explain about the downward angle of the shots.

"Aidi Noor Hafizal has marks of injuries on his face and chest. Noor Azam also had injuries on his face. These are signs of a struggle, contrary to police accounts that they were shot dead in a shootout."

'Police's version are lies'

The official police account of the 12.15am incident in April last year alleged that the brothers and a friend, Saufi Ahmad, were shot dead after they fired at police who were trying to arrest them while travelling in a car near the Billion roundabout in Cheras.

"The police’s version are lies, as suggested by details in the autopsy reports conducted independently," added Surendren.

The duo's father Othman Yusof - who was also at the press conference - questioned police allegations of a shootout as the cops never produced any evidence of guns in his children's car nor did they produce the drugs and parangs which were allegedly in their car.

"They never showed any evidence of their claims. Usually if it is a firearms case, they (would) show firearms, if (the case involved) drugs, they (would) show drugs."

More seriously, Othman reminded the police that his children had been "suspects" and should have been apprehended to face justice in the courts and not gunned down in the streets.

NONE Also present at the press conference were the duo's mother and family lawyer Latheefa Koya ( far right in photo ).

The family and PKR lawyers have been fighting for police to investigate the deaths of the duo as murder, but their legal battle was hampered by their inability to compel the hospital which conducted the autopsies to release the reports to them.

In light of the new evidence, Othman and Surendren want the cops to reopen probes into the deaths as murder, and question earlier police accounts of the incident which are inconsistent with the autopsy findings.