Missing Brickfields district police headquarters detainee G Francis Udayappan's mother identified - for the second time - a highly decomposed body lying in the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for almost seven months, to be that of her son, in the course of a 'John Doe' inquest today.

The inquest, which began on Aug 10, was taken to the UMMC mortuary as there had been "complexities" in the case as G Sara Lily had previously identified the body as Francis but a subsequent DNA test proved otherwise.

Exiting the mortuary, Sara Lily's lawyer, M Puravelan said that his client had made a "further positive identification" in the presence of himself, magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham - acting as coroner - Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ishak Mohd Yusof and forensic pathologist Prof Dr N Kasinathan.

"There was a free-flow discussion in the morgue (among the parties present)," said Puravelan adding that the details will be verified before being raised in court when the inquest resumes on Jan 5.

New DNA test?

Puravelan and Amer Hamzah Arshad, who is holding a watching brief for the Bar Council, did not rule out a possibility for a second DNA test on the mother to substantiate Sara Lily's claims.

"(We) won't rule out a new DNA test as well as some other relevant tests (which have been discussed in court), to be done at an appropriate time," added both lawyers.

The previous DNA test, conducted in July by the police, using a bone-marrow sample from the body found on May 23 and Sara Lily's blood sample, had failed to prove a match.

However, the test has yet to be submitted into the inquest as evidence.

Speaking to reporters, a distraught Sara Lily said she identified the body today - similarly to the previous time - based on a distinctive tattoo, deformity of two upper jaw tooths and the body's length and shape.

"The judge (coroner Nazran) asked me if I was sure that the body was that of my son Francis. I told him I was extremely sure," she said busting into tears.

Contradictions

Yesterday, UMMC pathologist Kasinathan testified in the inquest that histology tests conducted on an 'undecipherable black spot' on the body failed to prove that it was in fact a tattoo.

However he said the tests had a "certain degree of unreliability". Kasinathan had also revealed that the post-mortem - which he conducted with Dr K Virendra - was inconclusive and the deceased's cause of death could not be medically determined.

Commenting on the condition of the body, DPP Ishak told reporters that it was badly decomposed and features unidentifiable.

The inquest is a result of a protracted battle between Sara Lily and the police. She has accused the police of beating Francis to death. The police, however, have denied such claims and alleged that Francis escaped custody.

Police officers from the Brickfields station have testified that Francis disappeared after jumping into the Klang river flowing behind the station, in his escape bid, on April 16. The 24-year-old had been arrested two days before as a suspect in a theft case.

The inquest resumes next year and will continue at the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court from Jan 5-7.