State coroner rules Shane Todd committed suicide

State coroner rules Shane Todd committed suicide

    By Kimberly Spykerman and Claire Huang
    POSTED: 08 Jul 2013 9:59 AM

State Coroner Chay Yuen Fatt on Monday ruled that American researcher Shane Todd committed suicide by hanging himself and found that no foul play was involved in his death.

SINGAPORE: State Coroner Chay Yuen Fatt said he was satisfied that there was no foul play involved in American researcher Shane Todd's death.

He said that Dr Todd had, beyond reasonable doubt, committed suicide by hanging himself.

He summarised his findings in a 15-minute hearing on Monday. This follows a 10-day inquiry which began in May.

The state coroner said that overwhelming evidence showed Dr Todd had entertained suicidal ideations of increasing severity leading up to his death.

Dr Todd was found hanged in his Chinatown apartment in June 2012. His parents however believe he was murdered.

The coroner noted that Dr Todd, who worked for Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME), had faced great difficulty coping with his work after transferring to a new group. He was also unhappy with certain management decisions.

These factors, probably in part or in whole, triggered a relapse of his previous history of depression, said the coroner.

Citing the testimony of psychiatrist Nelson Lee, Coroner Chay said Dr Todd did not recover from his depression.

He said: "Dr Lee's evidence, which I accepted, was that the removal of a major stressor in a patient's life would not necessarily mean that the patient would recover, let alone recover spontaneously, even if they had a loving and supportive family, because the root of depression is ultimately due to chemical imbalances. This is logically all the more so when a patient's condition is of some severity, as was in the deceased's case."

The coroner also noted that Dr Todd had possibly felt he was not recognised at work, adding that evidence is clear Dr Todd was concerned about his ability to obtain approval for his new job.

This was due to the perceived involvement in violating US security, and it was possible that Dr Todd felt his condition might impede such clearance, said the Coroner Chay.

These concerns in all likelihood caused him to feel that his deep sense of failure would follow him back to the US, the coroner added.

Coroner Chay also said that he placed greater weight on evidence given by pathologists who were put forward by the state as they had more experience and were more qualified than the family's expert witness, Dr Edward Adelstein.

The coroner said Dr Adelstein had shown himself to be an "incredible" and "unreliable" witness who gave "unsupported" evidence.

He also noted that Dr Todd was not in possession of any classified information while working at IME, and that a project which Dr Todd's parents claimed put his life in danger did not ever materialise.

This would therefore be inconsistent with the possibility of foul play in his death.

The coroner also pointed out that there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of evidence presented by the State.

He said that there was no reason for the police to lie, referring to the family's claims that the investigating officer told them there were nuts, bolts and pulleys found at the suicide scene.

Four lawyers who represented the family during the inquiry were present in court and relayed the findings to them.

They said the family would issue a media statement once they have gone through the findings.

Gloria James Civetta, the lawyer formerly representing the Todd family at the inquiry, said: "Rick is currently in Germany and Mary is in the US. Both of them have expressed that they wish to make a statement once they review the findings that we're going to be sending to them."

Coroner Chay also extended his condolences to the Todd family and said it was evident Dr Todd was from a tight-knit family and had been loved by the people in his life. He hopes the family would be able to find closure.

In a statement, the United States Embassy in Singapore said the inquiry into Dr Todd's death was "comprehensive", "fair" and "transparent".

- CNA/fa/jc

- wong chee tat :)