G Sara Lily today filed a notice of appeal with the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court registry against a recent inquest that ruled out any foul play in the death of her son.

Last week, Magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham, acting as coroner, said there were no grounds to conclude that foul play was involved in the death of police detainee G Francis Udayappan, 24.

The inquest, which dragged on for two years, was held to establish the identity of a highly-decomposed body retrieved from the Klang river on May 23, 2004.

According to Sara Lily's lawyer N Surendran, his client was appealing against the 'exoneration' of the police force.

She was also challenging the inquest's finding that the manner of her son's death could not be ascertained, he added.

Too many holes

Chief among her contentions, Surendran said, pertained to the police's version surrounding Francis' death.

This included the assertion that Francis - a petty theft suspect - escaped custody while handcuffed by jumping off the first floor of the Brickfields district police headquarters, running through the only hole existing in the fence and jumping into the Klang River.

"There are just too many holes in the police's story," the lawyer told reporters after filing the notice.

Sara Lily has maintained that her son was beaten to death and thrown into the river but the police have denied this.

Surendran said the anguished mother was pursuing the matter to prevent the same thing from happening to others.

"She is not going to let go of the case. She is going to pursue the matter to the highest court of the land in order to pursue (justice)," he added.

Key witnesses

Another lawyer, P Uthayakumar ( left ), claimed that key witnesses to the case had not been called to testify at the inquest. These include the then-district police chief, station chief, as well as the two officers who had arrested Francis on April 14, 2004.

He said other tests on the body that could have been conducted were not performed.

The police, he stressed, must take responsibility "whether Francis was murdered, or manslaughter by letting him drown or gross negligence (on account of) his escape."

Also present at the registry were Police Watch and Human Rights Committee coordinator B Chandran, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat Youth vice-chief S Manikavasagam.

Death certificate

In a related matter, the National Registration Department (NRD) yesterday turned down Sara Lily's application for her son's death certificate.

This occurred despite the officer being shown a letter confirming that Francis was deceased from the police dated April 7, 2006, said Uthayakumar.

According to him, the NRD officer refused to issue her the certificate until the department was formally informed by the police.

The lawyer said he has written to the NRD director-general requesting the issuance of the death certificate within seven days.