KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — The Health Ministry will launch an independent probe into the two autopsy reports relating to the death of A. Kugan, 22, the suspected car thief who died while in police custody on Jan 20.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said this was to ensure impartiality following various allegations directed at the ministry over the matter.
He stressed that the ministry did not hide the facts and findings of the post-mortem conducted by the Serdang Hospital as had been reported by certain parties.
"The forensic pathologist from Serdang Hospital, who has over 20 years’ experience, had performed his duty ethically and professionally while conducting the post-mortem examination.
"Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health will be conducting a formal independent inquiry on both post-mortem reports in the interest of justice and fair play and will inform the public the outcome of the investigation," he said in a statement today.
A controversy arose over the Serdang Hospital post-mortem after a second autopsy done on the request of the deceased's family at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre indicated Kugan's death was due to multiorgan failure because of severe beating. The Serdang Hospital report had stated that death was due to fluid accumulation in his lungs.
Dr Mohd Ismail said forensic pathologists conducting post-mortem examinations may have differences in opinion as to the actual cause of death but what was important was that the findings should be almost similar as was in this case, which for the lungs was pulmonary haemorrhage, edema and congestion.
On the difference in the cause of death, he said it needed to be referred to independent forensic experts based on the findings of the two pathologists doing the post-mortems.
He dismissed claims by Kugan's family, which were reported by the Malaysiakini website, that the Serdang Hospital pathologist had listed 22 injuries on the body compared to the 40 additional injuries, burn marks and scratches indicated in the second report.
"The Serdang Hospital report showed 83 wounds and injuries. The description of each is more detailed in the Serdang Hospital report," he said, adding that the UMMC report was also not accurate as some of the wounds reported were caused by cutting during the first post-mortem examination.
He said the Serdang Hospital report made available to Kugan's family and published on the website was a comprehensive report while the record of the detailed findings and pictures taken during the first post-mortem were kept at the Serdang Hospital for court reference.
"It is not fair for anyone to make baseless allegations in this case as the Serdang Hospital pathologist had carried out his duties ethically and professionally," he said.
Dr Mohd Ismail added that the ministry did not want discuss the cause of Kugan's death in the open and urged the public not to make any more baseless allegations until the responsible parties completed their investigations, including the ministry itself.
He gave an assurance that the case would be given serious attention, but hoped the public would be patient until the independent panel completed its job. — Bernama
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