July 29, 2009 17:03 PM
Unidentified DNA Trace Found On Teoh's Blazer, Inquest Told
SHAH ALAM, July 29 (Bernama) -- The DNA trace of an unidentified man was found on the back of the blazer and belt of political aide Teoh Beng Hock who fell to his death at the Plaza Masalam here on July 16, the inquest into Teoh's death was told today before it was adjourned to Aug 5.
Government-appointed lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who is assisting the inquest conducted by coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, told the court the "mystery man" had yet to be identified although samples of DNA were taken by the Chemistry Department from 102 individuals.
Tan said that besides the DNA trace of the "mystery man", Teoh's DNA trace was also found on the blazer and belt.
"Samples were taken from 102 individuals to determine whether their DNA profile matched the unidentified DNA trace. The DNA profile reports of 90 of the individuals are ready while the remaining 12 have yet to be obtained.
"I was also informed by the investigating officer that two people had declined to have their DNA samples taken," he said.
Teoh, 30, political aide to Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam here after having given a statement as a witness to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations of misuse of funds by Selangor state executive councillors. The MACC office is located on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam.
On July 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that an inquest would be held to determine the cause of Teoh's death. He also said that a royal commission of inquiry would be set up to determine the standard operating procedure of questioning of witnesses and suspects by the MACC.
At the inquest today, Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is holding a watching brief for Teoh's family, wanted to know whether the DNA profile of any of the 90 individuals matched the DNA trace of the unidentified man.
He said this was one more reason why the court should adjourn the hearing, pending the outcome of the whole process of DNA profiling. Tan said it would be better for the chemist himself to say whether any of the 90 DNA profiles matched the DNA trace.
Earlier, Gobind Singh had asked for an adjournment of the inquest for at least 10 days to allow time to study all the reports relevant to the case.
He had also said that the hearing should be adjourned until a reply from the prime minister to a request for the cause of Teoh's death to be determined by the royal commission of inquiry to be set up in connection with the case.
"If the prime minister accedes to the request, then there is no necessity for this inquest," he said.
Gobind Singh said the family was attending the inquest under protest, not with any intention to belittle the court but to convey the stand that the cause of Teoh's death should be determined by the royal commission of inquiry.
He also questioned why Teoh's family were not given notice of the inquest as legally required, which was at least two weeks from the date of death.
Outside the court, Gobind Singh commented on the matter of the two individuals who had declined to have their DNA samples taken, saying: "I don't know who they are. I can only assume because two people came to me today and said they were requested yesterday evening to go to the 'balai' (police station)."
He said he knew one of them but not the other.
"It is not that they did not want to cooperate but they could not make it (to the police station) as they had to attend court today.
"What importance is that they have found DNA traces on the body. I think it is very important for me to identify who it belongs to," said Gobind Singh, expressing the hope that the police would wrap up their investigation and send the report to him.
He said he was happy with the adjournment, and added that it would give time to prepare the case in greater detail.
"I think the granting of the adjournment set the right direction since we have just been given the documents, post-mortem report, forensic report, DNA report, chemist's report and, therefore, certainly we need time to consider these reports.
"We also need time to give these reports to our independent experts to give their independent opinion on it. It is necessary for one of our lawyers to fly overseas to meet the experts to get their opinion directly," he said.
-- BERNAMA
