Dr Pornthip to testify

The forensic expert has agreed to testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock's death.

KUALA LUMPUR: Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanansunand today confirmed that she will testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

In a statement, RCI secretary Saripuddin Kasim said that the commission is in talks with Pornthip to fix a date for her testimony.

Pornthip’s name was previously missing from an earlier RCI witness list.

This prompted lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is representing Teoh’s family, to raise an objection, saying that she was the most significant witness since she had noticed the pre-fall injuries on the deceased’s neck.

Previously, Pornthip had stunned the nation when she claimed that Teoh could be a victim of foul play, paving the way for the deceased’s remains to be exhumed for a second post-mortem.

The forensic expert had also come under fire from the Malaysian government when she claimed that she had been given “signals” and “political pressure” to cease her involvement in the case.

According to the doctor, Thai government officials had discreetly relayed to her the “message” from their Malaysian counterparts.

Following this, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz denied the allegation, and called Pornthip a “liar”.

Meanwhile, the Selangor government had even offered to foot the transport cost for Pornthip as it deemed that the RCI would only be complete with her statement.

The state government and Teoh’s family had pulled out of the RCI last week.

RCI chairman James Foong later announced that the panel had unanimously agreed to recall Pornthip and another pathologist, Dr Peter Venezis, as witnesses.

Venezis, who was hired by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), had yet to respond.

Commenting on this, Saripuddin said the commission had enlisted the assistance of the Malaysian High Commissioner’s Office in London to contact Venezis.

“We will provide a status update as soon as we have made contact with him,” he added.

Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 16, 2009 after being interrogated by MACC officials on the 14th floor.

On Jan 5, the coroner in the inquest into Teoh’s death delivered an open verdict, ruling out both suicide and homicide. - FMT