By Joseph Sipalan
PETALING JAYA: The two witnesses in the Teoh Beng Hock inquest said to have refused to give their DNA samples have denied doing so.
They told a press conference yesterday that the reason they did not give their DNA samples was that they were only told about it at the eleventh hour.
At the beginning of the inquest on Wednesday, the coroner's court was told that police had questioned and obtained DNA samples from 102 witnesses in the course of investigations into Teoh's death.
The counsel representing the Attorney-General's Chambers, Tan Hock Chuan, told the inquest that two other witnesses had refused to give their DNA samples. He did not name them.
Yesterday, however, Tan Boon Hwa and Lee Wye Wing were identified as the two at a press conference called by Puchong member of parliament Gobind Singh Deo.
Gobind said Tan and Lee were only notified that their DNA samples were required on Tuesday evening.
They were unable to get in touch with the investigating officer and as they did not know where to give the samples, Gobind advised them to go straight to court the next day as they were to appear as witnesses.
"The notion that we are covering up a murder is a joke," Gobind said, adding that only Tan was a DAP member.
Tan and Lee were questioned overnight at the Malay-sian Anti-Corruption Commission office on July 15, the same time Teoh turned up for questioning.
Gobind said it was strange that the police were collecting DNA samples only now as it was normal practice to do so at the very start of investigations.
But he conceded that the police, like everyone else in the case, have much on their plate and the lawyers involved will make arrangements to provide the samples.
Gobind and DAP national chairman Karpal Singh are holding a watching brief for Teoh's family in the inquest.
Tan and Lee are expected to give their DNA samples at the Chemistry Department here today.
On claims made in an anonymous blog, t4tbh.blog-spot.com, that Tan and Lee were murder suspects in Teoh's case, Gobind shrugged it off as a "comedy".
He said they have "no time" to entertain the claims in the blog, which alleged that Teoh's death was a case of "Chinese underworld society killing a Chinese". - NST
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