Sujatha committed suicide, court rules

The late K. Sujatha was a former assistant to Vell Paari. — file pic

UPDATED

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — The Coroner’s Court ruled today that the death of actress K. Sujatha was a suicide.

Coroner Mohd Faizi Che Abu ruled that she committed suicide after drinking Paraquat weedkiller.

“To conclude my finding, I held that the deceased had died... (and) her cause of death is Paraquat ingestion and she died in the manner in which she had committed suicide.”

The coroner, however, admitted that the missing urine samples and the absence of a post-mortem report due to Sujatha’s family’s refusal allow one to be conducted had “deprived him from knowing the cause of death from the medical point of view.”

“I am now left with the circumstantial evidence and oral testimony of the witnesses... in my considered view, the family members and the doctor who are professionals and independent witnesses could not have agreed on something that is fictitious or untrue,” he said.

Sujatha, 28, died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang on June 25, 2007, six days after being admitted to the hospital for allegedly ingesting Paraquat.

Among witnesses at Sujatha’s death inquest were S. Vell Paari, the son of MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Maika Holdings chief executive officer; his cousin Dr S. P. Saktiveloo, a specialist attached to the hospital; and Sujatha’s two brothers.

Sujatha had once worked as a personal assistant to Vell Paari.

Federal opposition leaders, chiefly PKR Kapar parliamentarian S. Manickavasagam, alleged foul play in Sujatha’s death, claiming that Vell Paari was connected to the event.

The Kapar MP claimed that a poison pen letter also alleged a third party’s involvement in Sujatha’s death. He also claimed Sujatha’s father had called him, pleading that he probe an anonymous phone call the former had received.

The phone call purportedly made a similar claim that “someone” had been involved in Sujatha’s death.

In his judgement, the coroner said the claims made by Manickavasagam were not backed by substantial proof.

He also said the lack of injuries other than internal ones caused by Paraquat and testimonies from family members that she had admitted to drinking the weedkiller “unknowingly” all pointed to suicide instead of murder.

On Vel Paari’s alleged intimate affair with the deceased, the coroner said a thorough check through Sujatha’s diary did indicate that “she was in love.”

And although evidence such as the discovery of Vell Paari’s photos and other testimony indicative of their close relationship were presented during the course of the inquest, the coroner said the matter has no bearing on the inquest.

“He could be the person the deceased was in love with but I am reluctant to decide on this issue as it has no bearing in this inquest.”

“Her lover may be morally wrong but not legally,” added the coroner.