No signs Teoh was strangled - witness

SHAH ALAM, March 10 (Bernama) -- Sungai Buloh Hospital pathologist Dr Shahidan Md Noor, who today continued with his testimony in the coroner's inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, maintained his stand that Teoh died of a fall from a high place and not because of other reasons.

Shahidan also stressed that based on the condition of Teoh's body following exhumation and the second post-mortem which he himself did, he found that no objects had been used to beat Teoh and that the deceased could not have been dragged before the fall.

He said Teoh was conscious during the descent from the high place and rejected the notion that the deceased could have fainted prior to the fall.

"In my opinion, if Teoh was indeed dead or unconscious, the type and nature of injuries would depend on how his body was taken out of the 14th floor (of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam).

"If that was what happened, my assumption is that Teoh would not probably have landed feet first," he said at the close of his testimony during questioning by Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, counsel for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Shahidan, the 31st witness in the inquest, added that when conducting the second post-mortem on Teoh on Nov 22 last year, he did not find any signs to indicate that Teoh had been unconscious during the descent.

When asked by Abdul Razak about injury marks on Teoh's neck, Shahidan reiterated that they did not contribute to Teoh's death.

To Abdul Razak's question whether it was possible the injuries could have been caused by the grabbing of Teoh's neck as in wrestling, Shahidan said: "In this case, it would be difficult to say whether such a thing happened but if there had been an armlock, it would have shut off oxygen to the brain and cause death. I did not find any signs of struggle for breath."

Shahidan also told the inquest that if Teoh had been strangled or suffocated, his lips and and finger tips would have turned bluish and there would have been red spots on his face, but he did not find these on Teoh's body.

"There were signs of swelling in the neck but no signs of asphyxia. There is the possibility that pressure had been applied on the neck. However, the red spots on the neck did not cause Teoh's death."

Shahidan also said injuries in Teoh's anal area were not the result of external penetration but were consistent with injuries of a fall from a high place.

"In my opinion, based on the injuries (in the anal area), the central portion, that is the bone at the bottom had broke and exited during the landing and re-entered in the rear portion. This is an injury that can happen during a fall and not because of external penetration," he said.

In the three days he provided testimony, Shahidan rejected the contention by Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand that there was 80 per cent probability that Teoh died of strangulation and that the deceased had been tortured.

He said he also drew the same conclusions as forensic experts Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim and Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar, who conducted the first post-mortem on Teoh, and admitted that the first post-mortem report was more superior.

"Dr Khairul and Dr Prashant have a deeper knowledge of this case as they received a fresh body for the initial post mortem and had also visited the scene of the fall. Their presence during the second post-mortem also helped in the final findings," he said.

At the end of his questioning, Abdul Razak also suggested that the coroner recall Dr Khairul and Dr Prasant to clarify several points that Pornthip had raised concerning the duo's investigations of the case.

However, lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who is holding a watching brief for the Selangor government, objected saying it was to prevent the two experts from correcting their earlier testimonies.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas deferred decision on this till two other forensic experts had testified.

He then adjourned the hearing to April 20. Pornthip will testify on that day while MACC's pathologist Dr Peter Venezis will provide testimony on April 26 and 27.

Teoh, 30, was found dead on July 16 last year at Plaza Masalam here, after being interviewed overnight by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which has an office on the 14th floor of the building.

The remain's of Teoh which were buried at the Nirvana Memorial Park outside Kuala Lumpur were exhumed on Nov 21 for the second post-mortem at the request of his family.

Dr Khairul and Dr Prasant, who conducted the first post-mortem, had told the inquest that it was possible Beng Hock, an aide to Selangor state executive Ean councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, had committed suicide.