In a press statement, Datuk Saripuddin Kasim said that the commission was now arranging for a suitable date for Dr Pornthip, who had supported the claim of foul play by the former DAP aide’s family, to attend the inquiry.
Dr Pornthip was left out of the initial witness list, prompting counsel for Teoh’s family Gobind Singh Deo to question the independence of the panel.
Also absent from the list is Dr Peter Vanezis, the forensic scientist brought in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
However, the commission is still trying to reach Dr Vanezis with the help of the Malaysian High Commission in London.
Dr Pornthip was the star witness for the Selangor government in the coroner’s inquest that returned an “open verdict”, ruling out both suicide and homicide after 17 months in court.
She was the only one out of five forensic experts at the inquest who supported the Teoh family’s claims of foul play, although she declined to repeat her previous assertion that Teoh’s death was 80 per cent homicide.
Dr Pornthip also said the former political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah was likely to have been unconscious before he fell nine floors from the then-Selangor MACC headquarters in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 16, 2009.
Dr Vanezis — famed for his role in Princess Diana’s inquest — similarly did not rule out the possibility that Teoh could have suffered pre-fall injuries.
The three government pathologists at the coroner’s inquest — Dr Shahidan Md Noor, Dr Prashant Samberkar and Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim — are already on the witness list.
