Doubts raised on 'post-mortem stain'

Government forensic pathologist Dr Shahidan Md Noor echoed the testimony of his colleagues yesterday that the reddish mark on Teoh Beng Hock's neck was the result of "post-mortem staining" and not a bruise from external force.

However, counsel N Navaratnam, who is holding a watching brief for the Bar Council, raised doubts over Shahidan's testimony before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the political aide's death this afternoon.

The 52-year-old pathologist (right) had performed the second autopsy on Teoh's body on Nov 22, 2009, together with two foreign pathologists, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand of Thailand and Dr Peter Vanezis from the United Kingdom.

In the examination-in-chief by Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission's (MACC) conducting officer Amarjeet Singh, Shahidan said if the mark was caused by a bruise, it would have been more obvious 24 hours after it was inflicted.

However, the photograph taken during the first post-mortem showed otherwise, he said.

"I don't think we should put so much weight on it," said the pathologist from the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

The reddish mark below Teoh's chin has become the focus of the RCI in the hearings yesterday and today, since the cause of it could lead to the conclusion that Teoh was assaulted before he was found dead.

Yesterday, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital pathologist Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim, who conducted the first post-mortem on Teoh, disagreed with Porntip's testimony in the coroner's inquest last year that the mark on the neck could have been the result of strangulation.

'Degrading blood vessels caused staining'

Instead, Khairul said, it could have been the result of post-mortem staining.

Today, Shahidan explained further that post-mortem staining is formed when the blood vessels in a body degrade and cause the blood products inside them to diffuse and settle on the tissue close to the skin. As a result, the skin surface will appear reddish.

He pointed out the 'post-mortem stain' on Teoh's neck could be due to the diffusion of blood from the deeper structure of the neck.

During cross-examination by the Bar Council's Navaratnam, Shahidan was again asked whether the mark could have been caused by a headlock or choking.

"It is very difficult to say, there is a possibility, but we can't really say that... there is nothing to support it from the physical examination," he replied.

Navaratnam then raised doubts on the post-mortem stain theory, pointing out to Shahidan that a plastic apron and a cloth soaked with formalin were laid under the skin at the chest and neck areas after the first post-mortem to maintain a good appearance of the body.

The plastic apron and cloth would block blood diffusion, and the formalin would slow tissue degradation, he said.

Although Shahidan maintained that blood diffusion could still occur and cause the post-mortem stain since the blood could be absorbed through the cloth, he could not answer Navaratnam's question as to why the cloth appeared white in the photographs.

"I cannot understand," he said.

Another lawyer from the Bar Council, Christopher Leong, explored the possibility of Teoh having hit the building wall while he was falling, then bouncing further away from the buidling wall when he landed.

This was ruled out by Shahidan.

This issue is another key to determining the cause of Teoh's death, for it has been argued that if Teoh had been pushed out of the window, he would have landed close to the building wall. However, the spot his body was found is away from the wall.

In related development, RCI chairperson Justice James Foong said the independent investigator engaged by the commission, Michael Leslie Squires, a former chief investigator with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, has begun his probe.

For now, Foong (left) said, information from Squires' investigation cannot be disclosed.

According to the Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily, Squires visited its office in Petaling Jaya last week to gather information about Teoh.

Teoh was a journalist with Sin Chew Daily before he became political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.

The inquiry continues on Monday.