Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim, a senior medical forensic expert at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang who had carried out the autopsy on Teoh, had been asked to carefully consider the many possible causes of a death from a fall by the lead lawyer from the Attorney General's Chambers, Tan Hock Chuan, before giving his expert opinion.
Earlier, he had given the three most common causes as:
1. homicide: where the victim gets thrown or pushed out of a window from a high place;
2. accidental death: where the victim slips and accidentally plunges down while standing near an open window; and
3. suicide.
Dr Khairul suggested that Teoh committed suicide.
But in Teoh's case, Dr Khairul said the existing evidence struck out the first theory as there were no clear signs pointing to a struggle before the death, based on the injuries found on the DAP political secretary's body and from the lack of evidence at the window area.
He did not find traces of bloodstains, glass shards or items scattered at the window to point to a struggle.
He especially noted that a pen, which was found in Teoh's shirt when he fell to the ground, would most likely have fallen out if there was a struggle beforehand.
Dr Khairul also dismissed the theory of death by an accidental fall. He explained that a conscious person was unlikely to have slipped and plunged to death while opening the window, even in a sleepy state, because the floor below the window was carpeted.
“There were no signs the deceased suffocated or was unconscious,” the pathologist told the court after Tan quizzed Dr Khairul on whether he found any injuries or signs of injuries that showed Teoh “suffocated”.
He added that the injuries sustained would be different, too. In Teoh’s case, he said the injuries showed he landed on his feet first, rather than on his head or body.
“In my opinion, the deceased jumped,” he said, after Tan prompted him to give his expert conclusion on the most likely cause of death.
But lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, representing the Teoh family, immediately moved in to punch holes in Dr Khairul's theory that Teoh’s death was a suicide when he took over from Tan.
Gobind: In this case, you said the fall made an impact on the right foot. Now, is that common for a person falling from a high place to land on his feet?
Dr Khairul: I don't know.
The pathologist's reply triggered an outburst from the lawyer, well-known for his fiery temper.
Pushing on, Gobind asked Dr Khairul to demonstrate how Teoh would have likely climbed out of the window to commit suicide.
The medical forensic expert stood up and performed the action and then moved both his hands behind to his back, mimicking gripping the top edge of the window.
Gobind referred him to his action and asked if he had inspected the window for any prints, whether from the shoes or from the hands, based on what he had just shown the court.
Dr Khairul said he had not. He had done a visual check but had not found any signs of hand prints or shoe prints around the 14th-floor window area.
This sent Gobind into another fit.
“You come to this court and tell us your theories you cannot prove. In fact, you didn't do the basic tests to support, isn't it?
“Actually sir, there were no foot prints, no hand prints because forensics told us so. That means your theory is demolished. It's not a case where he jumped!” the lawyer directed loudly at a visibly tense Dr Khairul, who was later seen wiping his face and neck with a damp handkerchief.
Dr Khairul had agreed that there would have been marks near the window if Teoh had stood there to jump, as he demonstrated earlier, but maintained he found no such marks.
Magistrate Azmil Muntapha Abas, who is acting as coroner, agreed to stop today's inquest at this point and continue on Monday morning.
The lawyers said they had many questions to ask Dr Khairul and wanted him to return with photographs detailing the injuries sustained by Teoh, which he said he had snapped while performing the autopsy.
Gobind had earlier asked if the pathologist had measured the size of Teoh's feet to find out why only one shoe had fallen off in the fall.
Dr Khairul said he did not. He said there was no need to check if the shoe was too loose for Teoh's foot because he theorised that the shoe had come off air during the fall.
Under Gobind's intense interrogation, he admitted that there was a “possibility that the shoe was thrown off the building”, which points to the possibility of homicide.
But Dr Khairul said he had not dusted the shoe for fingerprints.
Gobind pushed on and asked if measurements were taken to find out the height of the plunge, from the 14th floor to the 5th-floor overhang where Teoh was found.
Dr Khairul said he had not because he did not have a tape measure on him at that time, prompting an outburst from the fiery lawyer over the pathologist's handling of the crime scene investigation.
Earlier too, the pathologist said he believed the DNA of at least two unknown men, which had been found on Teoh's belt and blazer and marked by government chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong, resulted from “contamination” on the autopsy table at the Klang hospital while his clothes were being removed.
Questioned further by Tan, Dr Khairul revealed that the autopsy table where Teoh was placed had not been sterilised or disinfected even though there were two other autopsies carried out on July 17, before he performed the post-mortem on Teoh.
“It was cleaned but using normal water,” he told the inquest.
Tan: Was there a possibility of contamination when the body was placed on the autopsy table clothed?
Dr Khairul: The possibility when he was placed is unlikely. But it may have been during the process his clothes were removed.
Teoh was found dead on July 16 on the 5th-floor landing at Plaza Masalam here after he was taken in for questioning the day before by the MACC investigating claims Selangor DAP executive councillors had misused state funds.
A former reporter, he was apppinted political secretary to assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah who won the Seri Kembangan state seat in the general election last year.
comments
Totally bullshit........they want to cover up the incident....
Aiya... just close the curtains. Reading all these loads of bullshit is crap. Yalar... who is Teoh Beng Hock? OTK 10 mil... tak ape. Toyol's house tak ape.
Die another person only mah... who cares wor. Msia biggest joke of 2009.... Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide because he can't handle the thought of getting married, can't handle a new addition to the family. Commit Suicide is the easiest way to get out of all mental torture. And all this makes sense because he was suppose to register for marriage.
Aiya...if wanna bullshit... average IQ rakyat also know lar. If got no brains, just shut up.
Suicide because "there were no clear signs pointing to a struggle before the death". Doesn't that all seem so simple? What if someone points a gun at your head and tells you to climb up the window? What kind of struggle would there be if you did not think that person would push you over? But then, he did. Now, there would then be no signs of a struggle, so do we then conclude that you committed suicide? Hmmm, it all sounds too simple!
Earlier PDRM claimed to the public say the investigation is about complete/done, way before TBH families lawyers and doctors prompted to discover the scene. Now government official pushes back and says TBH is suicide. People will only believes that PDRM has eliminated the proves where they deemed what was almost "COMPLETE" !!!!!
Guys, right or not?
Well doc, since you are supposed to be part of the criminologist team, why did you reach that conclusion, when the man was about to get married the next day? Even with the worst case of cold feet, men don't commit suicide. Did you, at arriving at your theory, base it also on Teoh's mental state etc, for eg if he was suffering from depression? He actually didn't have any of these diseases right?
In other words, what was the motive for suicide? As part of the investigative team, why didn't you try to ascertain that aspect before arriving at any conclusion?
This is the problem when brother are investigating a brother. Conflicts. Doubtful, take things for granted even for minor details which maybe the actual lead. Noticed that the chemist and pathology are doing job half heartedly too, which their professionalism are questionables.
Do they take measurement and calculate, do they use latest technology of tracing blood stain, do they do simulation, how about the belt marks, does it caused by falls too. And too many issues of tampering evidents taken place. For information, tampering or trying clear/hide evident in foreign country is a serious offence.
mother of lies....
if he had committed suicide, the window area would be full of teoh fingers' print....do you think a man going to kill himself will clean up the prints like criminals?
this goes to show how stupid the official arguement, shames us malaysian in the eyes of the world.
"The pathologist also said the DNA of unknown males was found on Teoh's belt and blazer, and this could have come from contamination on the autopsy table while his clothes were being removed."
Didn't the same happened in OJ Simpson case - contamination of evidence? And that resulted in him walking away scot free?
Are they trying to do the same here?
That's very unprofessional and unethical of the pathologist. It is his duty to establish the DNA of those at the autopsy table. Anything less is SHODDY and professionally unethical. It further suggests he is incapable of making a professional judgement!
This Doctor is another production from Malaysia university.. just like UTUSAN Reporter.. he is clueless.
MACC - same continue to sit and pick small case and them pick the minister and let them go without any evidence..
DPM - moron
PM - Same Moron
Health Minister - only know how to count
Transport Minister - surrounded by enemy with 10 millions in pocket
Home Minister - work on computer game.. data game
Rais .. makan nasi and still try to figure put H1N1 or Sakit Babi
I wonder how
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