The judicial inquest to ascertain the identity of a body found in the Klang River on May 23 has been postponed indefinitely following an application by a lawyer representing the mother of missing detainee Francis G Udayappan.

This morning, M Puravelan ( photo ) said he would be applying to the Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow for a judicial review of a decision made yesterday by magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham, who is acting in the capacity of a coroner.

The inquest was to have continued today with testimony from Sgt Chan Kim Chai on how Francis had allegedly escaped from the Brickfields district police station after he was arrested in mid-April on suspicion of theft.

Instead, the coroner and the lawyers made a two-hour visit to the police station this afternoon to look at the place of the incident ( photo ).

Yesterday, Nazran had denied Puravalen's request to question witnesses, ruling that his presence was only to hold a watching brief and not to act as a legal representative. He was also not allowed to inspect police reports and photos that the prosecution tendered as exhibits.

"I am unable to reconcile with the position of the coroner as all evidence being introduced now is directly related to Francis and I will be failing in my duty as his mother's lawyer if I did not make an application for a review...," he told the coroner this morning.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff suggested that the proceedings should continue, but acknowledged Puravalen's right to submit the application and left the decision to the coroner. No date has been fixed for the inquest to continue.

'Not the truth'

Puravelan's client G Sara Lily has claimed that the body is that of her son. She has alleged that he died while in police custody and that his body was dumped in the river.

The police said Francis had jumped into the river behind the police station while he was being questioned on April 16 in relation to being in possession of a stolen motorcycle.

Separate DNA tests conducted with samples from Sara and her husband did not establish a match with a bone marrow sample taken from the body, which has been in the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre morgue since it was found.

Speaking to reporters after the proceedings were adjourned, Sara said she was unhappy with media reports "which portray my son as a criminal as a result of the testimony of two police officers yesterday".

"I am also unhappy with the ruling that my lawyer cannot question these witnesses. The police are not telling the truth especially in accusing him of stealing a motorcycle when they had earlier said he was arrested on suspicion of a mobile phone theft," she said.

She also said she had been present when the police arrested Francis at his home in Kampung Dato' Senu in Sentul on April 14.

Sara had identified the body as that of Francis, based on tattoos and other features, but has been unable to claim the body without a copy of the post-mortem report. Her complaints to the Special Commission on the Police, among other parties, led to the inquest being held.