Excluding the impossible

The death of Teoh Beng Hock, according to local pathologist Dr Shahidan Md Noor's statement, could be caused by one of the three probable factors:

1. He jumped down from the building;
2. He was murdered;
3. He was pushed down the building.

In The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, Sherlock Holmes was famously quoted as saying: "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

One out of three, at least comes more convincing than the previously offered one and single option in the pathologist's statement: He jumped to his death.

The biggest difference between a single option and multiple options is that the former has been largely driven by the will, where only one solution is offered, and it's up to you to accept or reject it.

The latter, meanwhile, is more of a logical inference, where objective environments have been studied, various deductions and suppositions made, and the true answer sought out of all kinds of possibilities.

The most dreadful thing is that the most irrational factor has been offered as the only option!

This type of problems would not have occurred even when Holmes were investigating his cases, or more accurately during Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Britain more than a century ago!

That said, in many societies where transparency is lacking and public authority rampantly abused, the only option offered has become the standard solution.

China is a clear winner in this respect.

Be it in the police force, municipal authorities or jails, the Middle Kingdom seems to excel in turning the unbelievable into truth.

Let me cite some real instances:

A Chinese man was locked up in a detention centre but died several days later due to head injuries. A report was subsequently issued by the detention centre, claiming that the man had played a "hide and seek" game with his fellow detainees and accidentally hit the wall and ...

Another man fell into a coma due to "improper sleeping posture" while in police custody, and was proclaimed dead upon arrival at the hospital.

This could have been the first case of death caused by "improper sleeping posture" anywhere on this planet!

Yet another man was said to have been yelling "Here again! Here again!" in the middle of his sleep before he died at the lock-up. His family later spotted some bruises on his forehead.

Perhaps a Taoist priest should be hired if the place is that haunted!

A 20-year-old young man was said to have fallen from his bed and died, but from the video-recording, his family saw him blindfolded and assaulted by four people for 20 minutes before he collapsed.

The bed must not be too high, and the Japanese tatami should be perfect, and safe!

At a lock-up on the idyllic Hainan island, a man was said to have broken his neck spine and died while he was bathing.

Perhaps we should be much gentler and avoid excessive movements while enjoying a cold shower.

In Inner Mongolia, a suspect suddenly fell down when a cop "kindly" offered him some toilet paper when he was about to do his business.

The toilet paper must have been the latest product to join the ever growing list of dangerous products made in China.

A young man in central Henan province was sent to a lock-up, and was found dead after drinking a glass of water given to him by a cop and some flu pills from another cop.

Injuries were later found in his head, his nipples lopped off and genitalia mutilated.

This must be the "Miracle Water"!

As for whether Teoh Beng Hock really jumped to his death, the court of inquest has every obligation to bring out the truth! (By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)