Having earlier told the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court that he had observed Prakash Moses in a drunken state, reeked of alcohol and wearing dirty clothes, a police officer told the same court today that he could not recall ever speaking to the deceased.

Lance Corporal Zainal Awang told a judicial inquest, held to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of Prakash on Feb 18, 2003, that he "could not remember so well" whether he had checked Prakash's physical condition on the night he collapsed.

Zainal said he could not remember whether it was him or a "Lance Corporal Abdul Rahman" who had conducted the body search on Prakash, who was arrested on the night of Feb 14 by narcotics police officers along with 24 other drug suspects.

It was while awaiting a urine test at the Hang Tuah police station in the early morning of Feb 15 that Prakash reported fell suddenly. He died three days later due to head injuries sustained from the fall.

"I'm not sure if I checked Prakash Moses. I don't know," Zainal, who was then tasked with recording the possessions of detainees before they are placed in the lock-up, told magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham.

'Only one was drunk'

Three weeks ago, Zainal said that while recording the names, physical condition, and possessions of detainees on the night Feb 14, he remembered Prakash as "the Indian male in a state of intoxication, smelling of alcohol and wearing dirty clothes."

Zainal also said Prakash had walked into the registration room by himself, and told him that he was not in pain or had been hurt by anybody, and did not have any valuables on him.

On explaining the discrepancy, he told Nazran today that although he could not be sure if he had himself checked Prakash or not, he knew Prakash was drunk from the strong smell of alcohol as the detainee entered the room.

"There was only one person (among the 24 detainees) who was drunk," he said when questioned by counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad.

Zainal also denied that he had asked Prakash whether he was hurt or suffered any health problems.

The inquest began after a friend of the deceased lodged a report alleging that Prakash had been assaulted prior to his fall.

Family members, who claimed to have seen Prakash hours before he was brought to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, said the he looked well.

The hearing resumes tomorrow when Steven Prakash, the son of the deceased, will take the stand along with the police officer who had conducted the urine test.