KUALA LUMPUR: A British forensic expert reiterated before the Commission of Inquiry investigating Teoh Beng Hock’s death that the political aide was fully conscious when he fell from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.
“I am certain in my own mind, Teoh was alive and conscious when he fell. In my view, all the injuries I had seen on his body was the result of a fall from height,” said Prof Dr Peter Vanezis.
In his first testimony during an inquest at the Shah Alam magistrate’s court last year, he had testified that by referring to injuries found on Teoh’s body, it indicated the victim had attempted to break his fall, prior to hitting the ground.
He explained that the injuiries sustained by the victim also revealed they were distributed around the body and appearances on the surface were typical of a fall from height.
Teoh, 30, political aide to Selangor state exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, after giving his statement at the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office located on the 14th floor of the same building.
Previously, Dr Vanezis had disagreed with Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand that marks (around the neck) were signs of strangulation or blunt force being applied, which could have rendered Teoh unconscious or caused his death.
Questioned by Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, acting for the MACC, on whether the bruises found on Teoh’s neck were consistent with a typical case of strangulation, Dr Vanezis said he did not rule out the possibility of some kind of ‘neck lock’ that could have caused the bruises.
The expert also told the inquiry that the first post-mortem on the deceased, without doubt, would provide a better result as compared to the second (post-mortem).
He explained that on the second post-mortem, one was examining a body that had already been dissected and that there might be deterioration on the
body.
“It would be more difficult to take samples from the second post-mortem as even the samples might have deteriorated, and the existing bruises on the body could have become darker, causing misleading
details.
“These are such areas that could provide profound difficulties,” said Dr Vanezis.
Earlier, Dr Shahidan Md Noor, of the Sungai Buloh Hospital, also stated that the first post-mortem on July 17, 2009, was more reliable since the body was fresh and more evidence could have been gathered as compared to the second post-mortem on Nov 22, 2009.
Dr Shahidan conducted the second post-mortem on the deceased, together with Dr Pornthip and Dr Vanezis.
At the end of the proceedings, inquiry panel chairman Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen thanked Dr Vanezis for his cooperation.
“On behalf of the commision, I would like to say ‘thank you’ and have a safe journey,” he said.
The inquiry panel members also included former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman, former Appeals Court judge Datuk T Selventhiranathan, Penang Hospital’s forensic pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh and the dean of Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Prof Dr Mohamed Hatta Shaharom. — Bernama