SHAH ALAM (July 29, 2009) : The inquest into the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock has been postponed to Aug 5 to allow the lawyer acting for Teoh's family to study the evidence that has been handed to him, the coroner's court decided today.

Teoh Beng Hock's family speaking with Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M.Manoharan and Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas fixed the date after hearing submissions from all parties, mainly Gobind Singh Deo and government-appointed lawyer Tan Hock Chuan who is assisting the coroner.

Gobind said it was not his intention to delay the proceedings but that he needed time to prepare if the proceedings are to be conducted properly.

He said they also need to engage experts to study the documents related to the case.

"While we want to hurry, we should not compromise on the law and most importantly the interest of justice," said Gobind, adding that he needed 10 days to prepare.

The lawyer, who is also Puchong MP, also asked for access to the statements from the witnesses.

"The officers that interrogated Teoh are the persons closest to the circumstances leading to the death, " he said.

The coroner said he will decide on this application before the witnesses are called.

A total of 77 witnesses are expected to be called for the inquest which is scheduled to be held over 15 days.

Earlier, in his submission, Gobind had asked for a stay of proceedings, stating that they did not get copies of the post-mortem report, CCTV recordings, forensic report and DNA report. He made the application under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The documents were later provided by Tan, who however withheld the statement of witnesses.

Gobind referred to Tan's statement earlier in the hearing that the "last thing the government wants is a delay".

"We are not interested in the 'last thing'. We are interested in justice (to the deceased)," said Gobind, adding that he did not understand why the inquest was being rushed as the criminal investigation was only completed on Tuesday, and the post-mortem report released that same night.

Gobind also made references to the incomplete DNA report given yesterday, stating that it could hamper the proceedings as it could implicate certain witnesses in the inquest.

He said the reports should be finalised first, so that any witnesses implicated could engage a lawyer to attend the proceedings.

Earlier, when asking for a postponement, Gobind said the coroner should arrange to notify the deceased's family members or the next-of-kin regarding the date, hour and place of the inquest at least two weeks before hand, but that this was not followed in Teoh's case.

He also submitted that for the first mention date, a maximum of three weeks should be given for parties to appear before the coroner, calculated from the date of receipt of the post-mortem report from the government medical officer.

He said this is stated under the "notice of an inquest" in the Practice Direction No 1 of Guidelines of Inquest 2007 - Section C on the Notice of Inquest.

Gobind also informed the coroner that Teoh's family members are attending the proceedings in protest as they are of the view that the cause of Teoh's death should be determined by a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

"The family hopes the cause of the death and the circumstances will also be included in the terms of referrence under the Royal Commission of inquiry. We have made an appeal to the PM to re-consider his decision," said Gobind.