Lawyer: Cops delaying independent DNA test

comments     Roshan Jason     Published     Updated

The family of a missing police detainee, who were permitted to conduct an independent DNA test on a body in the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UUMC) morgue, today accused the police of delaying the process.

Their lawyer N Surendran said the police were dragging their feet despite the family being given the green light by the Attorney-General's Chambers to perform the test.

"It's been 10 days since we received the green light from the AG, however we have yet to be able to extract a sample from the body because the hospital authorities have not allowed us to do so," he said when contacted.

According to Surendran, UUMC authorities told him that access will only be granted upon police permission as it was a police case.

"However when I called the investigating officer about this he told me that it was not in his hands as he was waiting for instructions from his superiors and the federal police headquarters, Bukit Aman," he said.

Contacted later, investigating officer Nik Rosazhan Nik Abdul Hamid refused to comment on the matter.

Collusion charge

Previously, the police carried out two DNA tests with blood samples from the detainee's mother G Sara Lily and her estranged husband. Both failed to reveal a match.

Despite this, Sara has insisted that the highly decomposed body is that of her 24-year-old son G Francis Udayapan ( photo ) based on a tattoo and teeth deformity.

The body was fished out of the Klang river on May 23, more than a month after Francis was said to have escaped from the Brickfields district police headquarters by jumping into the river.

From the onset, Sara has claimed that her son, who was arrested on suspicion of petty theft, had been beaten to death and dumped into the river by the police.

However, a probe by the federal police headquarters ruled out any foul play. The family has also accused UMMC of colluding with the police to cover-up the case.

Uncooperative hospitals

Meanwhile, Surendran said he viewed the permission granted by the AG as a "grudging permission granted with insincerity as the family is still caught in bureaucratic red-tape".

The lawyer also complained that several private medical centres have refused to conduct the DNA test as they do not want to get involved in a police matter.

"There has been a total lack of cooperation from the medical profession as we have approached a number of private hospitals to help us conduct the DNA test but they have refused to do so," he said.

In view of this, Surendran called on the Malaysian Medical Association to look into the matter to ensure that doctors do not neglect their "responsibilities to society".

However, the lawyer said one private medical centre has agreed to do the test but he declined to reveal its name.

Judicial inquest

In a related development, it was reported today that Kuala Lumpur CID chief Aziz Bulat had said that a three-day judicial inquest starting Aug 10 will be held to determine the identity of the body in UUMC.

Commenting on this, Surendran said he was disappointed with the authorities for not informing him or the family about the inquest.

"The family and I have not been informed about the inquest officially, I was only made aware of this by the media.

"Just like the inquiry conducted by the Royal Police Commission, those involved have shown a lack of respect for the family by not keeping them informed of things. It's like the family has no interest in the matter at all," he added.

However, Surendran said this "high-handedness" shown by the authorities would not deter the family from trying to find out more information about the inquest and to be present for the proceedings.

"The mother will have a lawyer present to cross-examine witnesses during the inquest, which is actually an open judicial proceedings," he stressed.



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