‘No finger prints taken ’cause machete had curved handle’

PETALING JAYA: Police officer, ASP Fon Thiam Seong the Investigating Officer (IO) in the murder of D Dinesh in Aug 2012 today told the court that he did not dust the weapon used by Dinesh for fingerprints as the machete had a curved handle.
This reply was given by Fon when questioned by lawyers Eric Paulsen and G Sivamalar at the Ampang court this morning.
Speaking to FMT, Eric expressed shock over the explanation given by Fon and questioned how an experienced police officer could miss out such a vital evidence gathering procedure.
“During the inquest, we asked why there were no fingerprint reports, the officer said the machete had a curved handle thus they could not get any fingerprints from it.
“It is such an important and essential matter and the answer (given by Fon) is just not convincing. With his experience how can he say such a thing?” Eric said.
Eric stressed that the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) seemed to be disinterested in trying to locate the two civilians who claim to have witnessed the incident and may be able to shed some light into the inquest.
“During the first hearing we mentioned that there were two witnesses to the incident but the DPP does not seem like he is interested in the fact.
“The two witnesses have given their statement to the cops.
“We have informed the magistrate again and a subpoena will be issued by the court to call these two key witnesses,” Eric added.
On another key point, Eric said that the court will also write to Bukit Aman’s law department, to obtain the standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed by police officers during a shoot-out.
He said that the SOP is important to the inquest as it would explain the proper action required to be taken by a police officer during such incidences.
“On this matter, we had asked for the cops to provide us with their SOP during the previous inquest hearing, but they have not provided with it and now they say they can’t give it out,”
“The court will write a letter to Bukit Aman requesting for the SOP. We need the SOP to understand how the investigation is carried out. The police should provide their SOP during the inquest,”
In a phone conversation, Eric slammed the DPP for not being impartial during the inquest.
“The DPP was like an assistant for the cops. This is an inquest where we need to determine the cause of death and if any foul play was involved,” Eric shrugged.
Besides, ASP Fon, Dr. Nurliza Abdullah from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Forensic Department also testified and confirmed that Dinesh was killed by a bullet that went through his right ear.
The next inquest hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
On Aug 21, last year, Dinesh a 26 year-old was shot by police in the wee hours of the morning while traveling with friends.
He sustained gun shot wounds to his head and arm and died two days later at the Ampang hospital. Police claimed that Dinesh tried to attack them with a machete.
Dinesh’s friends, who witnessed the shooting, had claimed that the group, who were traveling in several cars, were heading for supper when they were blocked at the traffic light near the Ampang Waterfront by two Proton cars.
They said plainclothes police officers had alighted and opened fire indiscriminately on the group after Dinesh had got out of his car to inquire about the situation.
Alfian ZM Tahir, Free Malaysia Today