Penang Bridge crash victim died of drowning - forensic expert

A forensic expert told the Magistrate's Court in Bukit Mertajam on mainland Penang that the cause of death of Moey Yun Peng in the Penang Bridge accident in January last year was drowning.

Dr P Chandroth Navin from Penang Hospital Forensic Medicine Department, who conducted the post-mortem, said there were three bruises externally while internally, there were only four swellings on the head without any skull fractures or any other injuries.

"My examination was also consistent with the internal findings that the lungs were filled with water and swollen due to alveolar destruction and bleeding in the lungs. Water was also found in the victim’s abdomen.

“All of this was consistent with drowning by taking into the account of the history obtained from the police together with the autopsy and histology findings, which pointed towards drowning in the absence of other severe external or internal trauma,” Chandroth Navin said yesterday, before Sessions Court judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin, who was sitting as magistrate.

The witness was testifying at the trial of former hairdressing salon worker, K Vaitheswaran, 21, who was charged with causing the death of Moey, a college student, whose sports utility vehicle (SUV) crashed into the sea from Penang Bridge in January last year.

On Feb 11 last year, Vaitheswaran was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries an imprisonment of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of RM20,000, as well as disqualification from driving for a certain period.

During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Nazri Abdul Rahim, Chandroth Navin said there were foreign materials in the lungs, which also caused the bleeding.

Earlier, a medical assistant at the Penang Hospital Emergency and Trauma Department, Baharuddin Baharom, told the court that Vaitheswaran suffered ‘retrograde amnesia or memory loss due to a concussion to the brain.

Baharuddin, who responded to the emergency call on the day of the accident, rushed to the scene and conducted a health check on Vaitheswaran who was sitting by the road after the incident.

“I have done a number of checks on awareness level (on the accused) where most of them are 'normal', but he could not remember what had happened,” Baharuddin added.

Vaitheswaran was represented by lawyer K Paramanathan. The trial continues tomorrow.

- Bernama