An Umno Youth leader today called for a probe to determine if the pathologist who conducted the first post-mortem on deceased police detainee Kugan Ananthan had made a false report to help certain individuals.

Should this be the case, Umno Youth exco Ahmad Ikmal Ismail said an investigation must be carried out.

And if found guilty, he added that appropriate action must be taken against the doctor.

Ahmad Ikmal was questioning the startling differences in the findings of the two post-mortem reports, the second by a pathologist commissioned by the deceased's family.

The report of the first post-mortem, conducted by a forensics pathologist from the Serdang Hospital, stated that Kugan died of fluid accumulation in his lungs.

However, the second report from a Univeristi Malaya Medical Centre pathologist stated that the 22-year-old car theft suspect died as a result of being severely beaten during his incarceration.

It also stated that Kugan had been burnt, starved and that no examination below the heart area of Kugan's body was conducted during the first post-mortem.

The family's lawyer N Surendran had said this was puzzling as it is compulsory for any pathologist to conduct a complete check-up.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Ikmal said he was happy to note that both Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and his deputy Ismail Omar had announced that necessary action will be taken after receiving instructions from Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail

"I am also happy that the deputy IGP said the police will not side or cover up any of the policemen involved in the alleged beatings," he added in a statement.

Form ad-hoc committee

The Umno Youth leader also called on the police to form an ad-hoc committee to launch a thorough investigation into the case.

"What circumstances led to the beatings? Where was it done? Why was it so easy for the interrogators to beat the deceased over the several days he was in the lock-up?" he asked.

Ahmad Ikmal also called for appropriate action to be taken against the alleged perpetrators in the case.

"While we appreciate the serious nature, heavy duties and responsibilities of the police, these few errant policemen must not be allowed to continue in their wrong ways.

"Because of the actions of these few errant cops, the initial investigations of the alleged criminal involvement of Kugan with the stealing of luxury cars have been derailed," he said.

"We must not allow these few bad apples to spoil the trust and confidence enjoyed by the police," he added.

Kugan had died on Jan 20, five days after he was arrested, at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya.

Following the emergence of a video clip taken at the Serdang Hospital mortuary which revealed severe lacerations on the deceased’s body and enormous public pressure, the attorney-general reclassified the case as murder.

Subsequently, 11 policemen were reassigned to desk duty pending investigations.

Serdang Hospital director: Weak evidence

Yesterday, Serdang Hospital director Dr Mohd Norzi Ghazali said a mob of about 50 people had barged into the mortuary and tampered with Kugan's body before any post-mortem was carried out.

According to the New Straits Times, the director said his medical officers were afraid and sought cover for two hours in a connecting room of the mortuary.

A report on the incident stated that Kugan's fully-clothed body was in a body bag, which had been torn open by the mob.

The medical officers also reported that they were shocked to see a pool of the deceased's blood on the floor of the mortuary.

The report said this indicated that wounds on the body could have been inflicted after his death.

Meanwhile, Nordin said both post-mortems were "weak evidence" in the case as they were conducted after the body had been tampered with.

On the claim that Kugan was starved during his detention, the director said a person's stomach would be cleared of traces of food about four hours after his or her last meal.