Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Teoh inquest: 80pc chance of homicide, says Thai expert (Update 3)

SHAH ALAM: There is an 80% probability that the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock was a homicide, said renowned Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand.

Testifying in the inquest into Teoh’s death Wednesday, she said there was only a 20% chance that Teoh had committed suicide.

Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand

She added that marks on Teoh’s neck region looked like he had been strangled manually.

“The contusion of the skin on the right side of the neck looks round, indicating it might have been caused by fingers,” she added.

Counsel representing the government Tan Hock Chuan then suggested that she did not have the locus standi to arrive at her opinion.

“Since you did not conduct the post mortem or inspect the body or go to the scene of the incident and not furnished with the report and photos, is it not appropriate to form an opinion on mathematical terms that suicide is 20% and homicide 80%?” he asked.

Dr Pornthip replied she did not take sides and her work involved taking care of the rights of the dead, adding that she only based her opinions on the evidence provided.

This prompted Tan to rephrase the question by suggesting that the limitations she faced was insufficient to help Dr Pornthip to arrive at the conclusion that it was 80% homicide and 20% suicide.

“It is my field, my work and I believe in that. It is more scientific,” said Dr Pornthip, adding that she did not agree with some opinions of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre’s Dr Prashant Samberkar on why Teoh’s death could have been a suicide.

However, she added she did not want to criticise the opinions of other forensic pathologists.

She said her opinion was based on her years of experience and not aimed at contradicting the police or other medical professionals.

Dr Pornthip, who is the director-general of Thailand’s Ministry of Justices Central Institute of Forensic Science, had been invited to give her expert opinion by the Selangor state government.

She is well-known for her prowess in solving complicated homicide cases and is a celebrity of sorts in her homeland.

She is the author of Investigation of Corpses which sold 100,000 copies in Thailand, and also led a group of international forensic scientists in 2004 to identify the remains of the Asian tsunami victims.

Her life and work was narrated in a National Geographic documentary entitled Crime Scene Bangkok in 2004.

Dr Pornthip told coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas that she is willing to conduct a second post mortem on Teoh if his remains are exhumed.

She said she would be able to come up with a more concise and detailed analysis if she could examine Teoh’s remains.

To a question by Gobind Singh Deo who is holding a watching brief for Teoh’s family, Dr Pornthip said she would still be able to conduct the post-mortem in spite of the deceased being buried almost four months ago.

When asked if the second post mortem on Teoh’s body would put her to a disadvantage, Dr Pornthip said there would not be any disadvantages but only limitations due to the decomposition which could destroy everything if a second post-mortem was prolonged.

Questioned by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, the counsel holding a watching brief for the Selangor government, Dr Pornthip said several injuries sustained by Teoh appeared to be inconsistent with a fall from a high place, and appeared to be pre-fall injuries instead.

(Dr Pornthip had been provided with pictures of Teoh’s injuries and post-mortem reports by Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim from the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital and by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre’s Dr Prashant Samberkar).

Malik Imtiaz: Can you explain why not all the injuries were consistent with a fall from a height?

Dr Pornthip: The first is the anal injury; from the picture there’s a penetrative injury at the anal region. I have never seen this type of injury in cases of fall from height.

She added that if the injury had indeed been caused by a bone protrusion, it would have come from the inside of Teoh’s anus as opposed to being a penetrative injury.

Dr Pornthip also said the abrasions found on Teoh’s upper right thigh also appeared like he had been beaten with a piece of wood.

There is more than one line and the direction of the force on the thigh is different from the direction of the penetrative injury to the anal region, she said.

According to Dr Pornthip, there was a need to open the skin in the area where the haemorrhage was found to determine if torture had been involved. (Both the pathologists who had conducted the post-mortem on Teoh had failed to do so.)

She added this was necessary to determine whether the haemorrhage was compatible with a fall from a height and single impact from the ground.

Dr Pornthip also said Teoh’s skull fracture was not typical of a transferred injury due to a fall but was more compatible with a blunt force being directly inflicted to the head.

She said the transferred injury to the skull due to impact of the fall would typically cause a ring fracture at the base of the skull around the spinal column and not a cervical spine fracture such as that suffered by Teoh.

Dr Pornthip said Teoh, 30, was probably alive when he hit the ground but may have been unconscious before the fall.

She added this was in view of the fact that there was no reaction or defensive wounds on his ankles and wrists which would have occurred if he had been conscious.

Dr Pornthip added that these wounds would occur when a conscious person tries to break his fall which was a natural reaction when one is falling from height.

There’s a possibility that he was unconscious from the manual strangulation or pain from the anal region, she said.

Teoh, the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, had been summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office at the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam to be questioned over the irregular disbursement of state funds on July 15.

He was found dead on the fifth floor service corridor of the building the following day.

Meanwhile, the Selangor government called on the authorities to study the evidence of Dr Pornthip that Teoh’s death was a probable homicide and that he could have been strangled before falling from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam.

“Her evidence has indeed proven that the state’s fear on the safety of government officials during interrogation by MACC is not totally unfounded,” said Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Samad in a statement Wednesday.

Given her experience, he said that Dr Pornthip’s evidence could not be taken lightly.

He reiterated his government’s call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s death instead of just looking into the interrogation methods used on him by the MACC.

The inquest has been adjourned to Nov 9.

Govt directs SKMM to investigate high cost of IT services

CYBERJAYA: The Government has directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) to study the reasons behind the high cost of providing Information Technology (IT) services in the country.

Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said there were numerous complaints on how expensive it was to obtain IT services here, while the quality -- particularly connection availability and speed -- was not up to expectation.

“The Government would also like to know why the cost for IT services is high in Malaysia. Consumers’ main grouse is that they are charged more compared with users in other countries but the quality of service is not up to mark.

“We want to know how it (the cost) can be brought down and at the same time improve on the quality,” he told reporters after a briefing at the SKMM on Wednesday.

Rais said SKMM must also see to it that providers deliver what they promised consumers, adding that if a provider promised Internet surfing speeds of 10Mb (megabits) per second, the public should not be experiencing a “slow as tortoise service at one or two megabits.”

He said providers whose services failed to meet expectation must be dealt with, adding this was where the Commission, as the enforcement authority, should play its role to ensure the public was not shortchaged,

Rais said efforts must be taken to close the digital gap between rural and urban areas, adding that fixed telephone line providers must expedite the laying of optical fibre cables so that people in districts and kampungs (villages) could also enjoy Internet service.

On another matter, the minister said 11 cases related to violations committed in cyberspace had been to court, adding the nature of cases included sending lewd and vulgar SMSes and e-mail, and comments insulting the Sultan of Perak.

He said there were a “good number of cases” that had been brought to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Commission would leave it to the A-G to decide whether or not prosecute the offenders.

Rais reminded the Commission of its responsibility to ensure that all cyberspace users in the country follow laws and regulations, adding it should not hesitate to take action against violators.

“I must however stress that we are not practising censorship but there are laws that need to be respected and adhered to.

“The public’s interest and safety, as well as the country’s security, need to be looked after and that is why the Commission must do its job to see to it that users follow guidelines,” he said.

PIKOM PC FAIR 2009 (III)

PC Fair 2009 (III) locations and venues are:

26-28 November 2009(11:00am - 9:00pm)
Dewan Merdeka, Seri Manjung
27-29 November 2009(11:00am - 9:00pm)
Dewan Tunku Ibrahim Ismail, Kluang
Alor Star Mall, Alor Star - NEW VENUE
Terminal One Shopping Centre, Seremban
4-6 December 2009 (11:00am - 9:00pm)
KL Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur Map of Surrounding Car Parks
· Penang International Sports Arena (PISA), Penang
Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), Melaka - NEW VENUE
11-13 December 2009(11:00am - 9:00pm)
· Persada Johor International Convention Centre, Johor Bahru
Stadium Indera Mulia, Ipoh, Perak
LG Car Park Exhibition Hall, 1Borneo, Kota Kinabalu - NEW VENUE
Dewan Suarah, Bintulu

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Young cops with such mentality, wondered how they were trained?

GEORGE TOWN: Two policemen were arrested for allegedly robbing a foreign worker of RM500 in Jelutong here.

The duo, aged 22 and 26, had stopped a Bangladeshi worker on Monday to check his permit but then relieved him off his money.

Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said the worker later lodged a police report and the duo were arrested Tuesday morning.

“The younger policeman had just joined the police force this year.

“They had abused their authority as policemen for their own ends,” he said.

Some how, looking at this report are even worse than any crime in the world. When and hence some one that is trained to serve, protect and maintain law/order were themselves perpetrates crimes.

Looking in micro portion of our PDRM, are they trained or programmed to serve the open public, to protect the weak and maintain order.

Some how, I had a hunch, when become policemens, they have the thought of the following:

-Saya ada kuasa!

-Saya boleh tangkap dan belasah, siapa yang tak hormat polis!

-Saya dapat hormat dan orang kasi keistimewaan!

-Saya janji hidup ada pencen sampai mati.

(Note: This is just a thought for certain unqualified or poorly selected policmens, in no case of reflected any individuals, or any actual policemens)

Some how, are the cops in Malaysia to serve the public, the tax payer or they are to serve the Ruling Coalition, the Ministers or the Politicians?

Don't get me wrong that, I'm condemning the police! It is opinion that our PDRM structures or chain-of-command had to be revamp to reflect professionalism.

Mainly, there are inability on some of our policemens to present a proficiency in certain aspects of legality or the point as "led by example", has made PDRM reputation looks terrible.

Secondly, policemen selections has to be upgraded to A'levels/STPM or above, as SPM is way low for some one, that holds great responsibility on security and protection.

Just wondering SPM qualified Policemens can understand the terms biological prints on crime scenes?

Hopefully, our Policemens understand that they can only help themselves to improve their own image and become professional.

I'll like to poke a particular bloggers, that mentioned, that it is normal for Policemen to response badly, since people are badmouth the cops from behind.

I think this person, probably has a mindset of teenagers to act this way. If it is true, than our policemens are way far from professionals.

In professional private firms, critictism is to be accepted from customers and they work to improve their level of services.

Yeah, if kutuk my supplier's level of services, I'll get retribution, then what kind of service can we accept?

Is Malaysia Ready for The Era of E-Government?

Recently I am into this yachting hobby and currently seeking high and low for all the relevant information for boat registration and to find out on its relevant regulations before I approach the boat dealer.

I logged onto Ministry of Transport’s and Jabatan Laut Malaysia’s website and to my surprise, Jabatan Laut Malaysia still put our ex Minister of Transport, Y. B. Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy as the current Minister of Transport. (http://www.marine.gov.my/indexeng.html)

On top of that, I am also looking for information on how to register a 22 footer leisure yacht but again, it returned no results as the information provided on the website either they are not properly clustered or simply the information provided on the website is not meant for private boaters.

Instead, a bunch of information like client’s charter, which depicts how well the agency is serving its “clients” and organization chart that do not lead to any harvesting of useful information can be seen at almost every corner of the page.

And the best part of this MOT website is, there is a link says “Letter to Editor” (http://www.mot.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=22&id=64&Itemid=180). I was wondering am I surfing a car magazine website or what?

I decided to close my browser and drive down to Port Dickson to see the marine clubhouse representative to find out more.

My conclusion, Malaysia government on one hand, promoting the concept of e-government but on another hand, they were too busy with by-elections and fighting for controlling power and seats in the parliament.

I just hope that the Malaysian government can wake up, learn from our neighboring countries, not blaming and accusing, and subsequently make good use of taxpayers hard-earned money on multiple aspects, be it governmental agencies or public welfare, to truly realize the concept of e-government.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

TBH inquest: A Chinese Wedding Estimates for macc counsel abd razak

Reading the update on TBH inquest with the title DNA identified , where counsel Abd Razak representing macc was holding a watching brief , telling TBH's brother Meng Kee that the deceased earned RM1,800 per month and was in a rush to get married as his girlfriend ( wife to be ) was pregnant. He even goes to the length at suggesting that a Chinese wedding cost a lot of money and from this tone , I gather that he is trying to imply the state of how TBH was in before his death and probably hinting that the deceased is in a stressed mode and suicidal , thus suicide attempt is not only not a surprise but highly likely. Well , I am in no position to challenge that but what I want to enlighten counsel abd razak which he should know or may not know , being a malay , how a much a Chineses wedding cost.

Well , if I give the estimate of my own wedding , it may not apply as it is more than 20 years ago but I may quote my nephew's wedding which happened just a few months ago , somewhere in May 2009 and the function is held in JB , not a cheap and low cost city , mind you. He did not spend a single sen on Video because I did it for him for free , albeit with amateur standard but a professional standard do not cost more than RM2,000 on the average. Video is not a must but having it if can afford will leave sweet memories for the loving couple. Then comes to photography , my guess is that it will not cost more than RM5,000 with normal standard and all gowns and suits provided , one set for the wedding ceremony proper and two sets for dinner time. These adds up to RM7,000 now. Let's take a table of 8 course dinner to the estimate of RM500 per table and with the total of 20 tables , it will add upto RM1000 and now plus other monies for Ang Pow etc etc , it will add upto the estimates of RM20,000 , more or less as what was quoted by Meng Kee , TBH's brother.

For a malay like macc counsel abd razak , he do not know that Chinese wedding may cost a stake or fortune , but the payback is not little either , meaning when the host invites their friends and guest , Ang Pows collected can sometime payback all expenses incurred , at least for the course dinner , if not exceeding enough to cover other expenditures. If the guest or friends are "big kaki" , meaning some individual of public tanding and well known in society , the Ang Pow would be bigger and is usually in the denomination above RM100 to RM1,000. Taking the estimates of 70% show up , 20 tables with 8 to 10 sittings , each table will be able to collect the average return of at least RM400 to RM500 or more and this is more than enough to cover the course dinner for each table. When it comes to Chinese wedding , the guest are usually generous and with the habit of not wanting to be labelled as stingy , they will ensure that their Ang Pow is at least reasonable to cover a minimum of the cost it will incur for his fair bit of share and it is always the practise that they write their names on the Red Packet to inform the host who has given or not , unlike the other weddings. If the guess Ang Pow is big , the names written would be bigger.

For this , my dear counsel abd razak , if you attempt in any mean to say that TBH could be suicidal due to the stress on his financial situation and the urgent need to get married , YOU ARE WRONG and you have picked the wrong justification. Even if the total amount collected from the ANG POWs , which usually covers at least 50% ( being very conservative already ) and above , at worst , TBH would need to seek a fund of RM10,000 which he would not have any problem securing a personal loan from any institution , assuming he got no other source of fund and no savings. At most , he only got to pay the average of RM250 per month for say 5 to 6 years and that will easily take care of his so called "tight financial" situation that could be the argument of his suicidal trait. Now , counsel abd razak , please go find other argument that is more convincing to attempt any implication on the suicidal trait on the deceased side but not this costly Chinese Wedding arguments.

Why are Ah Longs still able to function

I read in today's Star Online that "Ah Long transactions in Penang rake in RM15m" (http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/4830277&sec=nation)

As reported, "The amount was derived after a series of police raids at strategic outlets where RM15mil worth of transactions were traced."

It also mentioned that "About 1,700 debtors are involved and most of them are either factory or low-salaried employees.

“These people probably could not obtain loans from the bank with their low salaries and decided to seek help from loan sharks. We have yet to paralyse their activities; so we will continue with the fight,” he told a press conference."

In that one statement, it shows that:
  1. enforcement or police action alone will not stop the Ah Longs
  2. people in general mismanage their funds so that they live beyond their means
  3. most people who live beyond their means prefer to borrow money rather than work harder to find other means of increasing their income
  4. that banks are also a cause for directing business to the Ah Longs by not providing loans to low income earners
So the simple approach to most problems like this where the supply of undesirable products and services has become a social ill is to reduce or eliminate the demand. Simple economics, yes? Therefore, the steps that can be taken are:
  1. continued police action
  2. proper financial management education so that people will be able to manage their money better, take fewer or lower (or better still none at all) loans for houses and cars and definitely NOT for consumer items
  3. provide opportunities for people to earn extra income (this of course is if the persons concerned are not too lazy to do so) and of course legally too
  4. that banks provide micro personal loans like those that the Ah Longs provide for amounts like RM 500 and 1000.
Of course, many also argue that banks are also Ah Longs but with a banking license, nicer office clothes and nicer buildings.

More ideas welcomed.

Watching the media

IPOH: The Foreign Ministry is seeking more non-bumiputra citizens to join Wisma Putra, Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong said

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/20091002151319&sec=nation

Heard that a number of times. Non bumi applicants will be extreme lucky to be call up for interview. Stands a better chance being knock down by a motor bike.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has invited Malaysians to give ideas and suggestions for the 2010 Budget that he will table in parliament on Oct 23.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/20091002134809&sec=nation

Oh my god, the BN/UMNO government ran out of ideas. They do not know what to do. They do not know where the country should be going. We are in deep trouble. I know where my vote will be going in the next election.

PEKAN: More than 50,000 people are expected to attend Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Dataran Pekan here tomorrow

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/4829832&sec=nation

Somebody better check the numbers again. The open house according to The Star will be from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm which is 3 hours. If the 50,000 is correct, there will be 16,666 persons passing through the gates or 277 persons passing through the gates every second. I wonder if the price of rubber is getting a bit rubbery lately..

More On Vaccines

In relation to my previous post "WHY?? - Cervical cancer vaccinations for all girls" (http://blog.thestar.com.my/mystar/view.asp?id=26669), I just saw this on the Star Online "Parental consent needed for cervical cancer vaccination" (http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/20091002133522&sec=nation)

In the article, it mentioned that parents would be required to sign a letter of consent before vaccinating schoolgirls against cervical cancer. It is a great move that consent (at least for the moment) is required before this dangerous vaccine can be given.

It also mentioned that "the Education Ministry had yet to receive any objection from parents on the vaccination exercise" So perhaps those who have children in school should your objections at your PTAs since the report stated that the Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said "Most parent teacher associations welcome the exercise" I guess they take silence as consent.

So for those who have 12-13 year old girls in school next year or will soon, and who believe that the HPV vaccination and probably many other vaccinations are unnecessary and dangerous, please MAKE noise NOW!

Your daughter may not (or may) experience any side effects but someone else's may and it could be a fatal like Natalie Morton (yes she does have a name as our MOH seems to leave out), the 14 year old UK girl who died after receiving the Cervarix HPV vaccine while several other of her classmates suffered side-effects such as dizziness and nausea. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6852858.ece)

In the spirit of 1Malaysia, lend your voice to this unnecessary risk. I belief that for the parents of Natalie Morton, the statistics that only ONE in several hundred thousand (or even millions) will have a serious or fatal adverse effect means nothing because their precious daughter was that ONE. So make sure that your daughter and potentially your son, is not that ONE and don't play RUSSIAN ROULETTE with our children