Now, doc says Teoh wasn’t strangled
(The Star) – The inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock was once again enveloped in uncertainty when a government pathologist testified that the deceased had not been strangled or choked prior to his fall.
Sungai Buloh Hospital Pathology Unit chief Dr Shahidan Md Noor said all Teoh’s injuries were consistent with falling from a height, except for the red bruises on his neck, which he admitted could be pre-fall injuries from some form of pressure exerted in the area.
“What I am saying is that the internal injuries were consistent with the fall from a height but injuries on the neck suggest there was some form of pressure but this did not cause his death,” said Dr Shahidan when cross-examined by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa.
According to Dr Shahidan, who was ordered by coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to conduct the second post-mortem, there was no sign of asphyxiation.
Ironically, on March 1, Dr Shahidan had agreed with Teoh’s family lawyer Gobind Singh Deo and state-appointed counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar during cross-examination that Teoh may have been strangled or choked prior to his death.
Yesterday, Dr Shahidan reiterated that Teoh’s death was purely due to falling from a height and it was unlikely he had been clobbered on the head with a blunt object.
Teoh, the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was summoned to the MACC office at the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam here on July 15 for questioning over alleged irregular disbursement of state funds.
He was found dead on the fifth-floor service corridor of the building the next day.
Dr Shahidan added that injuries to Teoh’s anal region were due to the impact of the fall.
Last October, renowned Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojasunanand testified that the marks on Teoh’s neck showed he could have been strangled.
She also referred to an anal tear Teoh suffered as a ‘’penetrative injury’’, adding that she had never seen this type of injury in cases of a fall.
Meanwhile, Dr Shahidan also said Teoh was conscious when falling to his death and ruled out any suggestion otherwise.
He added that Teoh’s injuries would have been more severe if he had been unconscious at the time of his fall.
Azmil Muntapha fixed April 20 for Dr Pornthip to testify and April 26 and 27 for celebrity British pathologist Dr Peter Vanesis, engaged by the MACC, to take the stand.
