The Malaysian Bar - Sosilawati trial: 'Seven tooth samples were of human origin'

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Sosilawati trial: 'Seven tooth samples were of human origin'

Friday, 11 November 2011 09:03am

©The Sun Daily (Used by permission)
by Tan Yi Liang

SHAH ALAM (Nov 10, 2011): A forensic dentistry officer told the Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya murder trial today that seven out of 10 tooth samples given to her by the police were human teeth.

Dr Norhayati Jaafar (pix), from Kuala Lumpur Hospital, said she identified the samples after a visual examination and X-rays of the samples on Sept 17 last year.

To questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Norhayati said she came to her conclusions based on the morphology and X-rays of the samples.

She said one of the teeth was blackish-white in colour and had small cracks and a broken root.

Asked what could cause the cracks on the surface, Noorhayati said it was most likely due to exposure to a high temperature of at least 750 degrees Celsius as the enamel was separated from the dentine within the tooth.

She also said she found one enamel cap to not be of human origin.

"There were crescent shaped lines, commonly found on animals that eat grass such as cows, goats, sheep or horses," she said.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Manjeet Singh Dhillon, Norhayati said she had basic experience in animal odontology which she gained while doing her Master's degree in Melbourne.

Asked if she had conducted any experiments to see the heat changes in bones or teeth in humans or animals, Norhayati said she had not done any.

She said she had read books and articles and had examined post-cremation remains.

She also said the remains she analysed on Sept 17 were consistent with cremation remains.

She said she was not told what the police were looking for when she did her examination last year, but was aware of the disappearance of Sosilawati and her companions from newspaper reports.

Sosilawati and her three companions, CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, went missing in August last year.

Former lawyer N Pathmanabhan and plantation workers T Thilaiyagan, R Matan and R Khatavarayan are charged with the murder of Sosilawati and her three companions at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30 last year.

Kuala Lumpur Hospital forensic department nurse Aney Azura M Salih, who also took the witness stand yesterday, said she took blood samples from Sosilawati's mother at her Batu Pahat, Johor home and two individuals in Negri Sembilan.

She also took blood samples from Noorhisham's wife, Suzana Radin Pangat, and their children.

Meanwhile, Inspector Lim Ah Heng testified that he accompanied Aney when she took the blood samples and signed off on the documents for the collection of the samples.

The hearing continues before High Cour judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir.

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