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Thursday, 30 May 2013
AP article on Todd's death "inaccurate, misleading and mischievous"
Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, has described a recent article by the Associated Press (AP) on American researcher Shane Todd's death as "inaccurate, misleading, and mischievous".
AP article on Todd's death "inaccurate, misleading and mischievous"
Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, has described a recent article by the Associated Press (AP) on American researcher Shane Todd's death as "inaccurate, misleading, and mischievous".
By Kimberly Spykerman 30 May 2013
Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, has described a recent article by the Associated Press (AP) on American researcher Shane Todd's death as "inaccurate, misleading, and mischievous".
The report, titled "Singapore Police acknowledge violating protocols in investigation of American's death" dated May 27, was carried by some US media that included The Washington Post and CBS News.
In a letter, Mr Mirpuri said that the AP article "distorted" a police investigator's statement which was brought up during the coroner's inquiry into Dr Todd's death, which wrapped up on May 27.
Mr Mirpuri said the investigator, who was under oath, did not say he had violated any protocols, nor "admit" that he had done so.
He added that the article had also repeated assertions by Dr Todd's parents without reporting that these were contradicted by witnesses who gave evidence in court under oath.
For example, a hard disk drive belonging to Dr Todd that his parents say they found in his apartment, and which contained work files that were accessed three days after he was found hanged.
However, the police investigator had testified in court that he was the one who found the disk drive and accessed it to check for any suspicious information before returning it to the family.
The family sent the hard drive to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for analysis, and the FBI confirmed it was the same one that was returned to the family by the police.
In her written statement, Dr Todd's mother, Mrs Mary Todd, had said her son had told her that he felt "extreme discomfort" from being asked by Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) to collaborate with a Chinese company and that he was being asked to compromise US security.
Mr Mirpuri said the AP article referred to equipment Dr Todd was involved in purchasing for IME but that it omitted evidence from witnesses that several hundred sets of such equipment had in fact been sold by US companies to China.
Mr Mirpuri also noted that two US certified forensic pathologists had taken the stand to testify that they agreed with two Singapore pathologists that Dr Todd had died by hanging, and there was no evidence of a struggle.
Dr Todd's parents have maintained their son was murdered over his work at IME.
Mr Mirpuri said Singapore authorities remain fully committed to determining the cause of death.
He noted that a total of 73 witnesses gave evidence in the inquiry either on the stand, or in the form of written statements.
Singapore had also facilitated overseas witnesses that included a computer forensics expert engaged by Dr Todd's family to give evidence.
Mr Mirpuri added, "It is regrettable that the Todds did not take the witness stand. This would have helped resolve differences between their account and other witnesses' testimonies." - CNA/fa
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AP article on Todd's death "inaccurate, misleading and mischievous"
Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, has described a recent article by the Associated Press (AP) on American researcher Shane Todd's death as "inaccurate, misleading, and mischievous".
By Kimberly Spykerman
30 May 2013
Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, has described a recent article by the Associated Press (AP) on American researcher Shane Todd's death as "inaccurate, misleading, and mischievous".
The report, titled "Singapore Police acknowledge violating protocols in investigation of American's death" dated May 27, was carried by some US media that included The Washington Post and CBS News.
In a letter, Mr Mirpuri said that the AP article "distorted" a police investigator's statement which was brought up during the coroner's inquiry into Dr Todd's death, which wrapped up on May 27.
Mr Mirpuri said the investigator, who was under oath, did not say he had violated any protocols, nor "admit" that he had done so.
He added that the article had also repeated assertions by Dr Todd's parents without reporting that these were contradicted by witnesses who gave evidence in court under oath.
For example, a hard disk drive belonging to Dr Todd that his parents say they found in his apartment, and which contained work files that were accessed three days after he was found hanged.
However, the police investigator had testified in court that he was the one who found the disk drive and accessed it to check for any suspicious information before returning it to the family.
The family sent the hard drive to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for analysis, and the FBI confirmed it was the same one that was returned to the family by the police.
In her written statement, Dr Todd's mother, Mrs Mary Todd, had said her son had told her that he felt "extreme discomfort" from being asked by Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) to collaborate with a Chinese company and that he was being asked to compromise US security.
Mr Mirpuri said the AP article referred to equipment Dr Todd was involved in purchasing for IME but that it omitted evidence from witnesses that several hundred sets of such equipment had in fact been sold by US companies to China.
Mr Mirpuri also noted that two US certified forensic pathologists had taken the stand to testify that they agreed with two Singapore pathologists that Dr Todd had died by hanging, and there was no evidence of a struggle.
Dr Todd's parents have maintained their son was murdered over his work at IME.
Mr Mirpuri said Singapore authorities remain fully committed to determining the cause of death.
He noted that a total of 73 witnesses gave evidence in the inquiry either on the stand, or in the form of written statements.
Singapore had also facilitated overseas witnesses that included a computer forensics expert engaged by Dr Todd's family to give evidence.
Mr Mirpuri added, "It is regrettable that the Todds did not take the witness stand. This would have helped resolve differences between their account and other witnesses' testimonies."
- CNA/fa
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