09/05/2026

SATURDAY | MAY 9, 2026

5 Bar slams removal of lawyer from inquest

o Inquiry into death of doctor breached natural justice, constitutional rights: President

post-mortem examination findings dated Jan 19, 2024, Shintumathi was believed to have died due to “inhalation asphyxia by compressed gas and plastic bag”. The report noted that her body had undergone moderate to advanced decomposition before the post-mortem was conducted a day after she was found on her bed with a plastic bag over her head. The examination also discovered an oxygen mask in the plastic bag, with the air tube exiting the bag. Quoting information from the case’s investigating officer, the report claimed the air tube was connected to a compressed gas canister tank found 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 said. Shintumathi was found dead in her room at a condominium unit in Petaling Jaya on Oct 8, 2023.

escorted out of the courtroom by security personnel after coroner Rasyihah Ghazali dismissed his repeated requests for inquest documents. His co-counsel Mahajoth Singh, P. Purshotaman and Reenajit Kaur Golen revealed that two formal applications for the documents made on April 15 and May 4 had yet to be answered. It was reported that Shintumathi’s family had lodged 28 police reports and submitted two appeals to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on their demand for an inquest. The law firm representing the family of Shintumathi, 35, said facts of the case and “excessive delays” by relevant authorities warranted the need for an inquest. In a letter dated Sept 3, 2025 to the AGC the law firm representing the family of the deceased said it was very clear that there were suspicious elements and criminal factors which led to Shintumathi’s death. It was reported that according to

counsel is essential in these proceedings to look after the interests of those who engaged him. “The counsel was removed for acting in the interests of his clients, that is, he made an application permitted and demanded by law in the interests of natural justice, but this was dismissed and he was removed. “There is a Practice Direction, namely Practice Direction No. 2 of 2019, issued by the then-chief justice of Malaysia, which gives the family the right to apply for disclosure, and such disclosure should generally be made. “This constitutes a miscarriage of justice that calls into question the very validity and integrity of the coroner’s inquiry itself,” he said. Anand said any violation of the right to counsel is an affront to the rule of law. “A lawyer must be allowed to discharge his or her duty and act without fear or favour in the interests of their client,” he added. On Wednesday, Shintumathi’s family lawyer Zaid Malek was

Ű BY ANDREW SAGAYAM newsdesk@thesundaily.com

unexplained deaths. “On May 6, the Shah Alam Coroner’s Court commenced an inquiry into the death of Shintumathi. “It was reported that prior to the proceedings, her family’s counsel made

KUALA

LUMPUR:

To

deny

disclosure and order the removal of counsel is a breach of natural justice and the constitutional right to counsel said the Malaysian Bar. Its president Anand Raj said the inquest proceedings into the suspicious

requests for the disclosure of documents – which requests they were entitled to make as counsel – but those documents were not provided. “Her family’s counsel then made an application before

circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Shintumathi Mutusamy (pic) went ahead without the family’s lawyers being present in court on Wednesday. “A Coroner’s Court exists for an important purpose, which is to determine what happened to the deceased in sudden, suspicious or

the Coroner’s Court but that application was denied and the counsel was then ejected from the court and the inquest went ahead,” he said in a statement. Anand added that the family’s

Elderly man killed, wife injured in robbery IPOH: An elderly man was killed while his wife was injured after they were allegedly assaulted with a hard object during a robbery at a house in Jalan Melayu in Ayer Tawar near Sitiawan. Manjung police chief ACP Hasbullah Abd Rahman said police received a call from a member of the public at about 5.30am on Thursday informing them of the robbery. “The elderly couple were attacked by a man, causing both victims to suffer serious injuries after being struck with a hard object. “The suspect fled after taking two mobile phones and the victims’wallets. Neighbours who heard the commotion came to assist the victims and took them to Seri Manjung Hospital for treatment,” he said in a statement yesterday. Hasbullah said the 84-year-old male victim was later pronounced dead while receiving treatment and an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death. He added that police intelligence and investigations led to the arrest of a 27-year-old suspect, who has seven previous criminal records, at about 7.45pm on Thursday. – Bernama Maritime agency foils fuel-smuggling attempt KOTA TINGGI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has foiled an attempt to smuggle cargo believed to be marine gas oil worth about RM19.55 million in an operation at Tanjung Bulat. Acting Johor Maritime director Maritime Captain Kama Azri Kamil said two suspicious vessels were detained on Monday night in a strategic stretch of national waters following intelligence gathering and continuous surveillance. He said the first vessel was detained at about 10.50pm, 1.5 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Bulat, while the second vessel was intercepted 40 minutes later, three nautical miles southeast of the same location. “Inspections found that both tugboats were registered in Tanzania and operated by 10 Indonesian crew members aged between 26 and 54,” he said in a statement. The case is being investigated under the Customs Act 1967, while all crew members have been detained under Section 51(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 to assist investigations. – Bernama

NARCOTICS HAUL ... Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar (second left) displaying seized packets of cannabis buds worth RM12.6 million during a press conference in Shah Alam yesterday after police crippled a drug distribution syndicate.– BERNAMAPIC

Police seize drugs worth over RM16m in Tawau TAWAU: Police seized 323.91kg of

Hussein Omar said the syndicate’s modus operandi involved using second-hand vehicles to conceal drugs within the interior compartments before transporting them from Sepanggar Port to Tawau. He added that Tawau has become a transit hub for smuggling prohibited substances not only for local use but also for distribution to neighbouring countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. “Police believe the drugs originated from the Golden Triangle or the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia before passing through the Klang Valley and being smuggled into Sabah and Sarawak for distribution locally and abroad,” he said. He added that the syndicate mastermind is believed to have fled the country, while several syndicate members have been arrested. – Bernama

beginning of this year. “In (one) found methamphetamine weighing 90.41kg and a liquid suspected to be fentanyl measuring 0.98 litres, while in the (other), 99 transparent plastic packets suspected to contain methamphetamine weighing 102.90kg were discovered,” he said at a press conference at the Tawau police headquarters. Hussein Omar said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction. He added that the suspects were charged in court on Wednesday and both have prior records involving drug and criminal offences. Action was also taken under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Forfeiture of Property) 1988, involving seizures amounting to RM34,000. vehicle, police

methamphetamine and 0.98 litres of fentanyl worth an estimated RM16.34 million during Op Hymenoptera conducted on April 21 and May 1 in Tawau. Its Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said in the first raid at Batu 15, Jalan Apas, police seized 128 transparent plastic packets suspected to contain methamphetamine weighing about 130.60kg, along with a Toyota Harrier vehicle. He said two local men aged 36 and 52 were arrested during the raid, with the first suspect believed to be the transporter and testing positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, while the second suspect was identified as a syndicate member. “A second raid was conducted on two sedans in Bandar Sri Indah, Batu 10, and police believe the syndicate has been active since the