6 œœ theSun | TUESDAY MARCH 10 2009

news without borders

MMA concerned over ‘tale’ of two autopsies, may refer pathologist to MMC
by Tan Yi Liang
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors must al-
ways be objective when conducting
examinations and not be influenced
by any authority, said MMA president
Datuk Khoo Kah Lin.
“The MMA has always maintained
that doctors must be objective in their
examinations, and in the reports that
they issue,” said Khoo, who expressed
concern over the discrepancies in the
two autopsy reports of A. Kugan who
died on Jan 20 in police custody.
“The conflict in autopsy reports re-
lated to Kugan has caused Malaysians
to speculate on the reasons for the
contrasting differences.
“So glaring are the differences
between the reports that the first
pathologist appears incompetent, at
the least.
“The Malaysian Medical Asso-
ciation (MMA) is gravely concerned
about the issue,” said Khoo.
Khoo said if the second report was
accurate, the pathologist responsible
was either “negligent in the perform-
ance of his duty or was coerced into
reporting as he did”.
He added that the MMA con-
demned the first report and was
considering taking action against the
doctor.
“In the current case, once the
truth is ascertained, the MMA will
consider taking the doctor concerned
to task and refer him to the Malaysian
Medical Council (MMC) if necessary,”
he said, praising the statement made
by Health Ministry director-general
Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.
“The MMA is heartened by Ismail’s
statement that ‘in the interest of jus-
tice and fair play, the health ministry
will initiate an independent inquiry
into the two post-mortem reports
of Kugan who died while in police
custody’ and that ‘the outcome of
the inquiry would be made public’,”
said Khoo.
He also condemned the death of
Kugan in police custody, saying this
is not the first such incident.
“The MMA condemns such custo-
dial deaths and urges the government
to take the necessary remedial action
to ensure that it does not happen
again,” Khoo added.

by Charles Ramendran

Motorists cry foul over delayed

newsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Delayed reminders of

traffic police summonses by up to eight years
after the alleged offence do not appear to be an
isolated matter.
On March 2, theSun reported the case of
banker Woo Ai Lin, who lamented that she
received a registered postal reminder for al-
legedly parking her car haphazardly on Jalan
Jejaka on Feb 19, 2001 and was cajoled to settle
the offence for a RM30 compound.
Woo said she had no memory of committing
the offence and “I do not even know where is
issuance of summonses
Jalan Jejaka and it is most unfair to compel
me to remember where I parked my car eight should be in office. I don’t even know where is
years ago”. Jalan Jejaka,” he added.
Even the date on the reminder did not seem Another motorist who declined to be named The
right to her as it was dated March 30, 2009, received several similar summonses dating summons
a month ahead of the day she received the back to 2002 for the first time, including one received by
notice. for reckless driving. Woo. Note
Following the news report, several motorists “I will challenge them in court. This is an the dates
contacted theSun to say they too were facing the abuse of power by the police,” he said. (circled)
same predicament with the traffic police. Federal traffic police deputy chief ACP Mohd on the
Jeff Tan said he received a reminder, also Fuad Abd Latiff, when contacted by theSun, document
for a parking offence on Jalan Jejaka, five years urged those who received such reminders to
ago. hold on “until we complete a probe into such
“Looking at the time of the offence, I think I cases of delays”.

“We will announce the outcome of the
findings as soon as possible,” he added. I am
looking into the matter since it was brought
to my attention.
“I will meet the relevant officers tasked to
send out the reminders.
He said he will raise the matter with his
superiors and if it is found to be a flaw in
policies, then the advice of the Inspector-
General of Police will be sought to address
the issue.
However, Mohd Fuad said that sum-
monses were valid even though they were
issued eight years ago.

Scientific evidence crucial

to uphold justice: Expert
KUALA LUMPUR: The application
of forensics or scientific evidence
in crime-solving is crucial for
upholding justice for citizens and
countries, says a Japanese crime
scene investigations (CSI) expert.
Masato Araki (pix), who is
attached with the criminal iden-
tification division of the Ishikawa
police headquarters in Japan
and holds the rank of assistant
police inspector, said “gone are
the days when confessions and
circumstantial evidence are used
to prosecute criminals”.
“These methods were relevant
in the absence of modern forensics. The accuracy
of forensics evidence is so high that it can be cru-
cial in the successful prosecution of a suspect,”
he told theSun in an interview in the office of the
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in
Menara Citibank recently.
Araki was in Malaysia to share his knowledge
and skills in his field of expertise – fingerprint
forensics.
He has been a member of the CSI for 23 years,
out of the three decades with the Japan National
Police Force. He has received numerous awards
for successfully devising his own methods in
fingerprint lifting and has shared his skills with
his counterparts in Mongolia and Indonesia.
Araki said: “In Japan, scientific
evidence is above all other forms of
police investigations. In my 10-day
visit here last year, I visited the foren-
sics laboratory and was impressed
with the equipment acquired by
Malaysian police.”
Asked on the efficiency of CSI
members here, he said: “They have
the skills but need more drive in
making efforts to maximise the
use of the equipment they have. I
am here to transfer my knowledge
and experiences about crime scene
evidence collection which is a very
critical area in CSI.
“Japanese police are very aggressive in gather-
ing forensics evidence and we never give up till
we find something. I am eager to share my skills
and I am impressed by the eagerness of Malaysian
police to acquire these new skills.”
He said fingerprint lifting is still relevant and
not an outdated method of crime-solving because
a person’s fingerprints are exclusive.
“There are even ways of obtaining forensics
evidence when a criminal uses gloves or tapes his
fingers, although it can prove to be a challenging
task,” he added.
Araki, who is here on assignment for a year,
said he would travel nationwide to participate in
crime scene investigations.