Nazri says Pornthip 'a liar'

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz has called renowned Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand a liar over her claims that the Malaysian government exercised "political pressure" to stop her from testifying.

"She is a liar! She lied in the inquest and she is lying now," said the de-facto law minister (left) when contacted by Malaysiakini.

"As you very well know, today with the Internet and everything, it would be suicidal for the Malaysian government to stop her from testifying,” added Mohamad Nazri.

He was responding to Dr Pornthip’s allegations in a Malaysiakini exclusive that she had been given "signals" and "political pressure" to cease her involvement in the ongoing investigation into the late DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock’s death.

According to the doctor, Thai government officials had discreetly relayed to her the ‘message’ from the Malaysian government officials.

She claimed to have been prevented from entering Kelantan on official business through the Thai-Malaysian border in January this year, saying that this was one of the ‘signals’ of pressure being applied upon her.

Despite being reluctant to do so, Dr Pornthip has decided not to testify because of the pressure being put upon her.

Forced to choose between her work in investigating the deaths in southern Thailand or the Teoh Beng Hock inquest.

Nazri however scoffed at Pornthip’s (right) claims, and said her problems with investigations in southern Thailand have nothing to do with the Malaysian government.

"It has nothing to do with her fear of not getting our cooperation in investigating her forensic cases in southern Thailand.

"I think it is a personal problem, it is a problem in Thailand.

"If she is unable to perform her investigation there, it is problem with the Thai government, not us," said Nazri.

Lim: 'Issue ministerial statement'

Reacting to Nazri's outburst, DAP leader and Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang said the minister should make a ministerial statement in Parliament tomorrow over this "scandalous and outrageous development".

With Pornthip barred from the Teoh inquest, public confidence in the BN government and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would plunge to a new all-time low, said the veteran opposition politician.

"The overwhelming majority of Malaysians do not believe that Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide by jumping off the 14th floor of the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 last year," said Lim (left).

He also said Nazri's ministerial statement should also be fully debated in Parliament.

Fellow DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo, meanwhile, said Nazri should investigate the allegations made by Porntip before jumping to conclusions on the matter.
 
To assert that Pornthip had lied at the inquest, furthermore, is not only contempuous but also "reflects his ignorance and arrogance."
 
"It is she who said there appeared to be marks of pressure applied to Teoh Beng Hock's neck.

"A second post-mortem proved her right. It  further went to show that the theory advanced by the MACC that Teoh was not harmed whilst on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam  may well be open to question.
 
"Nazri shouldn't interfere with the court process. He is in no position to determine what weight ought to be given to Dr Pornthip's testimony. That would be a matter for the coroner to decide based on the evidence before him.
 
"I challenge Nazri to offer himself as a witness at the inquest to prove his allegation that Dr Porntip had lied in court," said Gobind (right), who acts as the lawyer for the Teoh family.
 
"Instead of assisting the Teoh family and trying to solve the problem, Nazri Aziz has spoken volumes for the government to the contrary.

"Is there a real desire on part of the government to see justice done for Teoh Beng Hock? Or do they hope to discredit those who have helped establish a case against suicide on his behalf as seems to be the case here?"

Formerly the political secretary to Selangor exco Ean-Yong Hin Wah, Teoh (left) was found dead on the rooftop of the building housing the Selangor Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s headquarters in Shah Alam in July last Year.

His mysterious death, hours after he was seen walking into the anti-graft body’s office to be interviewed over alleged corruption in the Selangor government has caused widespread public outcry and the focus of an ongoing inquest.

Pornthip had earlier testified that she believed Teoh could have been strangled.