Doctor S Family Urges Inquest After 28 Police Reports Agc S Silence

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The family of a doctor who died under suspicious circumstances nearly two years ago refuses to relent, with 28 police reports and two ignored appeals to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) fuelling their demand for an inquest.
A law firm representing the family of the late Dr Shintumathi Mutusamy, 35, who was found dead in her room at a condominium complex in Petaling Jaya on Oct 8, 2023, contended that facts of the case and “excessive delays” by relevant authorities have fuelled the need for an inquest.
“Despite one year and 10 months having passed and 28 police reports lodged, the family of the deceased has still not been given any decision and/or update on the status of the police's investigation.
“It is glaringly clear that there are suspicious elements and criminal factors which led to her death,” lawyer Mahajoth Singh with Abd Halim Ushah & Associates said in a Sept 3 letter to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar, as sighted by Malaysiakini.
The letter also requested that the AG provide the latest update on the case’s investigation paper within 48 hours of receiving the letter.
According to a post-mortem examination report dated Jan 19, 2024, and attached with the letter to the AG, Shintumathi (above) was determined to have died due to “inhalation asphyxia by compressed gas and plastic bag”.
Lawyer Mahajoth SinghThe report noted that her body had undergone moderate to advanced decomposition prior to the autopsy conducted the day after she was discovered on her bed with a plastic bag over her head.
The examination also found an oxygen mask within the plastic bag, with the air tube exiting the bag. Citing information from the case’s investigation officer, the report claimed the air-tube was connected to a compressed gas canister tank at the scene “allegedly containing nitrogen”.
“This could have further contributed to her asphyxiation and her death in addition to the suffocation from inhaled plastic bag material,” the report stated, adding that smothering and strangulation were unlikely to have caused the death, as no relevant injuries were detected.
However, it highlighted that the prescription medication diazepam, a sedative commonly used to treat anxiety disorders, was detected in Shintumathi’s system based on liver tissue samples sent for a toxicology analysis.
“Because of the sedative nature of diazepam, its use may have contributed to her death by calming and sedating her when she was asphyxiating,” the report noted.
Various attempts to seek justice
ADSIn his letter to the AG, Mahajoth noted that the medical officer who performed the autopsy had stated in a separate document that Shintumathi’s death was under suspicious and unnatural circumstances.
“Both of these documents clearly show different causes of death. We are of the opinion that this very significant discrepancy is a strong basis to commence inquest proceedings,” he added.
Based on a timeline of events detailed by the legal representative of the victim’s family to the AG, various attempts had been made to seek justice for Shintumathi, who is understood to have co-owned a clinic alongside another doctor prior to her death.
On Jan 3 and again on July 18, 2024, the family sought the AGC’s discretion to order an inquest, but both requests were met with silence.
Earlier on Oct 27, 2023 - 19 days after Shintumathi’s body was found - her elder sister filed a police report alleging that her death was highly suspicious while naming a suspect believed to have been involved in the death.
A month after police located her body, law firm M Manoharan & Co, which represented the victim’s family at the time, wrote to then-Petaling Jaya district police chief Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid to inquire about the case’s status.
While Fakhrudin had replied to the letter with their assurance that investigations remain active, the victim’s mother, Vijayletchimi Tambi, proceeded to write a letter to the Selangor deputy public prosecutor the following month, claiming incomplete police investigations.
No response from the police
In the letter dated Dec 20, 2023, the mother highlighted that while the scene where her daughter was found was covered in blood and an unidentified yellow liquid, investigating officers had not collected any of the substances for further analysis to determine whether other individuals were involved in the case.
Malaysiakini sighted images of the apartment unit where Shintumathi's remains were found, with the gruesome photos depicting pooled and splattered blood in various locations of the home, which appeared to be in disarray.
She also claimed police failed to send two blood-stained mattresses for DNA tests and only secured CCTV footage from the day after Shintumathi’s death while supposedly ignoring recordings from earlier days.
The state prosecution director had replied to the letter on Feb 25, 2024, asserting that the case remains under police investigation.
A month later, on March 21, Petaling Jaya district police chief Shahrulnizam Ja’afar said its investigation paper on the case is “being updated to be forwarded to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for further instructions”.
Persisting in their efforts to secure updates on the case, the family’s lawyers had written to the police again, in accordance with Section 107A of the Criminal Procedure Code, requesting to be furnished with the investigation status of the many police reports previously lodged.
As of Sept 3, however, Shintumathi’s family has yet to receive a response from the police. - Mkini

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