Cadet S Mom Takes Minister Hospitals To Court Over Withheld Autopsy Findings

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Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) cadet Syamsul Haris Shamsudin’s mother has initiated legal action against the Health Ministry and several other figures over an alleged delay in disclosing post-mortem findings and official reports related to her son’s death.
According to court documents sighted by Malaysiakini, Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun filed the lawsuit via Messrs Naran Singh & Co on Oct 30 at the Shah Alam High Court, with the mother naming Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad as one of six other respondents.
The directors of the Sultan Ismail Hospital and the Kota Tinggi Hospital were also listed as respondents in the legal suit.
Also listed as respondents in the mother’s latest legal application are two medical officers, as well as a forensic expert with the Sultan Ismail Hospital.
In her affidavit, Ummu detailed that Sultan Ismail Hospital, where Syamsul’s (above) first autopsy was performed on July 29, had told her that she would have to pay RM1,000 and provide several documents in order to obtain the report.
After the above information was conveyed to Ummu via a letter dated Sept 3, the mother had provided the requested documents and an RM1,000 cheque on Sept 11.
However, she was later informed “at the very last moment” that the report could not be released to her as permission had to be secured from the police or the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) since the matter was still under police investigation.
“Nevertheless, I believe and have been informed that the police have no objection to me being given a copy of my son’s post-mortem report.
“I believe that as the biological mother of my son, I have the right to obtain the said post-mortem report in order to know the true cause of my son’s death and the findings of the post-mortem conducted at the Sultan Ismail Hospital,” Ummu stated.
Another twist
In another twist to the mother’s ordeal, the Sultan Ismail Hospital had then directed her to submit a new application for the report to Kota Tinggi Hospital, where Syamsul passed away on July 28 after undergoing Reserve Officer Training Unit (Rotu) training.
Besides providing similar documents as the ones requested by the Sultan Ismail Hospital, Ummu also made a separate payment of RM200 to Kota Tinggi Hospital on Oct 16.
“However, up to the date of this affidavit (Oct 29), I have yet to receive any response from the Kota Tinggi Hospital regarding my application.
“My lawyer has attempted to contact the hospital’s director, but his calls have gone unanswered,” Ummu claimed.
Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun (centre)She added that her lawyer was informed by the hospital’s records officer that the hospital director had provided instructions not to release the report to her on the grounds that the case is still under police investigation.
As such, the mother is seeking a court order directing the Sultan Ismail Hospital director and/or the Kota Tinggi Hospital to provide a copy of the first post-mortem report on Syamsul, as well as statement notes from the latter hospital’s Emergency and Accident Department.
‘No choice’
When contacted, lawyer Naran Singh said Ummu has been left with “no choice” but to pursue legal action against the Health Ministry and the hospitals involved, as multiple attempts to secure the post-mortem report have been unsuccessful.
“We have sent many letters and provided the necessary documents, but they have still failed to reply to us - they’re not even acknowledging our letters.
“Both hospitals have refused to give the post-mortem report on (Syamsul’s) first autopsy, and are instead passing the buck between them, (so) we have no other choice but to take this matter to the courts,” he told Malaysiakini.
Naran SinghIt was previously reported that Ummu suspected foul play after seeing bruises and bloodied eyes on her 22-year-old son’s body before he was buried, which led to her lodging a police report.
Ummu then filed an application at the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 14, requesting the exhumation of Syamsul’s body, a second post-mortem, and an inquest into his death.
On Aug 26, judicial commissioner Bhupindar Singh Gurcharan Singh Preet allowed Ummu’s application for Syamsul’s body to be exhumed and for a second post-mortem to be held.
Awaiting reports
On Sept 18, Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar said any decision on whether an inquest will be held into Syamsul’s death will be made after receiving a full report from the police, including the hospital’s report on the second post-mortem, which is expected to be completed within three months.
Ummu contends that the two MOs and the forensic expert with the Sultan Ismail Hospital, who were involved in the first autopsy, lacked the proper authority or qualifications to conduct or assist in the post-mortem examination on Syamsul’s body at Sultan Ismail Hospital.
In her affidavit, Ummu stated that while her lawyers had repeatedly reached out, to no avail, to Dzulkefly, the forensic expert, and the Kota Tinggi Hospital director to seek clarification on who had directed one of the MOs to conduct Syamsul’s autopsy.
The verification, she said, is needed to establish that authorities had erred in allowing the MO to conduct the autopsy as he is an “unauthorised person” due to the alleged expiry of his credentialing and privileging certification on March 29, after which the qualification was not renewed.
Naran had previously urged Dzulkefly to call for an inquest into the autopsy in question to determine whether there was any wrongdoing regarding the involvement of an MO from the Kota Tinggi Hospital.
Health Minister Dzulkefly AhmadThis came after the Health Ministry’s health director-general, Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab, insisted that Syamsul’s post-mortem was conducted by an MO at the Sultan Ismail Hospital’s Forensics Department, and not by an MO from the Kota Tinggi Hospital.
Mahathar’s statement came after Naran explained that Ummu earlier expressed her desire for forensic experts to conduct the autopsy when her son’s body was first brought to the Kota Tinggi Hospital.
However, the lawyer claimed that despite Ummu’s wishes, the same medical officer from Kota Tinggi Hospital had travelled 40km to the Sultan Ismail Hospital to carry out the post-mortem. - Mkini

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