How could police detainee Mohd Anuar Sharif - who is said to have died on Aug 18, 1999 from 'massive pleural effusion secondary to bronchopneumonia' - have 'walked into and out' of the treatment room earlier on the same day as noted by medical personnel?

This question was posed today when chest specialist Dr Michael Devaraj Jeyakumar took the stand as the fifth witness in the Kuala Lumpur High Court hearing of a civil suit against three senior police officers over Anuar's death.

Anuar's widow, odd job worker Suzana Md Idris, 39, is seeking more than RM500,000 from then-Gombak police chief Ishak Hussain, then-Gombak district CID chief Massari Hashim, and then-Inspector General of Police Norian Mai for her husband's death.

The Malaysian government has also been named as the fourth respondent in the suit.

Suzana, a mother of two, claims that her husband was beaten to death.

Anuar was arrested on Aug 10, 1999 for a suspected drug offence and subsequently remanded for 14 days. He was examined at a clinic on the night of Aug 17 but was returned to the Rawang police station lock-up immediately afterwards. He died 13 hours later.

'He could have been saved'

Jeyakumar - who is with the Kinta Medical Centre in Ipoh, Perak - told Justice Kang Hwee Gee that anybody suffering from the sickness would have been in a moribund state, "very ill and breathless."

"Anybody suffering (bronchopneumonia) would surely have displayed clear signs such as severe coughing, fever, and shortness of breath. Such a patient surely would have complained of his sickness and asked to be brought immediately to the hospital.

"I believe if the police had acted responsibly and brought the deceased to the hospital earlier, there is a large possibility the deceased would have been saved," he said, adding that Anuar was not suffering from a terminal disease.

He also said Anuar should never have been allowed to return to the lock-up without having been admitted.

Jeyakumar also questioned the discrepancies between the various autopsies and medical reports.

While two autopsy reports dated September and November 1999 record 'multiple laceration lesions over the neck, chest, abdomen and back region ranging 1 2 cm', a May 2000 report had replaced laceration with 'taenia'.

While laceration legions occur when skin has been broken on account of being struck by a blunt object, it is far different from taenia lesions, a fungal skin infection caused by tape worm, said Jeyakumar.

"I am not sure it was a typographical error as they are two terms that are vastly different from each other both in medical terms as well as in spelling," he said to a question from Suzana's counsel P Uthayakumar.

Superficial examination

Jeyakumar further questioned why the medical officer who had examined Anuar on the day of his death prescribed medicine merely for epigastric and abdominal pains when it was also noted that he had complained of shortness of breath and chest pains.

There was also no indication that chest examinations or any other checks on Anuar's vital signs - such as his temperature, pulse rate, or blood pressure - had been recorded, he said.

"It seems that only a very cursory, superficial examination had been carried out, suggesting the patient was not given due care.

"The physical examination on Aug 18, 1999 completely missed all the danger signs that would have been present," he added when queried further by the judge.

He also contended that while the medical reports noted 'casseous necrosis' - usually describing tuberculous lesions - had occurred in the left upper lobe of his lung, there were no indications that tests had been conducted to confirm Anuar suffered from tuberculosis.

"In order to confirm that the patient was suffering from tuberculosis, a microscopic examination of the lymph nodes should have been carried out. It's not stated that this has been carried out in the autopsy report," he said.

Jeyakumar also disputed a suggestion that 'massive effusion fluid' and 'sero haemorrhagic stain' as noted in the medical reports indicated Anuar suffered from tuberculosis.

"From experience, I've never seen blood stains. Fluid effusing and blood stains from something else but not to tuberculosis. (It is likely) or possibly due to trauma on the ... chest," he said.

He conceded that the "congested, pale and consolidation area exuding pus" could be due to an infection or tuberculosis but added that trauma to the area could also cause it.

Concurring with earlier testimonies by Suzana and Anuar's brothers, Jeyakumar also said the marks found on Anuar's body were bruises that could not have appeared after his death.

Hearing continues tomorrow.