The court will reveal the truth regarding the grisly murder of Kevin Anthony Morais when the suspects stand trial, said inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar.

He was responding to the gruesome photographs published in whistleblower website Sarawak Report , which showed the remains of the senior deputy public prosecutor after being extricated from a cement-filled drum.

Based on the photographs, the website accused the police of making a false claim that the deceased's hands were tied behind his back.

Though Khalid said the matter is best explained during the trial, the police chief however lambasted Sarawak Report for allegedly publishing fraudulent claims.

"Since this case is going to court, it is best that the explanation be done in court.

"We will not play to the tune of Sarawak Report which creates lies after lies. The public will hear the truth when the case is presented in court later," he told Malaysiakini.

Eight people, including an army doctor with the rank colonel, were charged with murder and abetting the crime.

Kevin's remains were found in a cemented drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur on Sept 16, 12 days after he went missing.

Sarawak Report claimed it had received the blessings of the family members to make the photographs public.

The website said the imaged revealed that when the casing of the drum was first removed, Kevin's hands could be seen still clawing out of the cement.

"His fingers appear raw, indicating they had been scraping at the inside of the oil drum, in which Kevin had been encased. An apparent desperate attempt at escape.

"The picture proves Kevin's hands were not tied behind him, but that he was found in a foetal position in the drum with his hands free in front of him," it said.

Furthermore, Sarawak Report claimed that "insiders" who saw the body in the hospital mortuary found no signs of strangulation, which the authorities claimed caused his death even before he was encased in the drum.

Kevin's case was also shrouded by a bitter feud between his siblings, Richard and Charles.

Richard had cremated the remains some two months after the murder much to the chagrin of Charles, who was seeking a second post-mortem.

Later, Charles made an explosive statutory declaration that he has a pen drive which was passed to him by Kevin detailing the cases he had worked on.

He also claimed his brother was working on a case involving Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Charles alleged that Kevin's initials were on a charge sheet meant for Najib, which the authorities had dismissed as a fake document.

However, Charles, a US-based hotelier, has returned to Altanta and there has been no sign of the alleged pen drive in his possession.

Editor's note : Malaysiakini has refrained from publishing the photographs due to the graphic nature of the content.