The Malaysian Insight

ALREADY grieving over the loss of their son, the parents of religious school student Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gadaffi, whose death was attributed to leptospirosis, are now struggling to pay the RM2,000 required for the post-mortem results.

The tahfiz school student’s father, Mohd Gadaffi Mat Karim, said he would travel from Kota Tinggi, Johor, to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HKL) next week to seek clarity on the fee after trying to raise some money first.

He has refused to believe that leptospirosis was the cause of his son’s death and is adamant about getting the report to seek legal advice.

“I was told the fee for the report is RM2,000. Before this, police told me that I could get the report for only RM80. God willing, I will come to Kuala Lumpur next week after I get some money,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Gadaffi who has four other children, said he knows Thaqif would not have lied.

“I am not satisfied at all. Many others have told me they don’ believe the post-mortem results. After I get the report next week, I intend to discuss the matter with a lawyer.

“My son didn’t lie about being beaten. After his legs were amputated (and after his death), forensics exhumed his remains. They did not smell. It means God has shown his power,” he said.

The first post-mortem after 11-year-old Thaqif’s death on April 26 found signs of abuse he allegedly received at the school. Prior to his death, he had both legs amputated due to bacterial infection.

The second examination revealed on July 10 that he had died of leptospirosis – a finding the boy’s parents have rejected as no other student at the school, Madrasah Tahfiz Al-Jauhar, had contracted the disease.

He also said he couldn’t accept the second post-mortem result because the hospital had sent a team to inspect his home for leptospirosis and found no trace of the bacteria.

“I don’t believe the report. They came to my house. There wasn’t a single mouse. So what is all this about?”

Gadaffi said he was unsure why the report should cost so much, and speculated that the amount was perhaps for two reports, since two post-mortems had been done.

Checks by The Malaysian Insight found that it cost RM1,000 for reports issued by HKL that involve findings by specialists and references from other hospitals.

Health Ministry deputy director Dr Jeyaindran Sinnathurai confirmed the fee, saying that 50% of it was paid to the specialists.

Gadaffi, who was a former Selangor football player and now works as a football coach, spoke of his disappointment with some people who were not sincere with their offers of help.

Some had made promises to help the family which they did not keep, while others had told him to apologise to the tahfiz school his son attended.

“One ustaz said he would fund the cost of a tombstone for Thaqif. We waited. But when the second post-mortem said he died of leptospirosis, the ustaz started making excuses that he was too busy,” said Gadaffi.

“Others have spoken to me negatively and said I should apologise to the tahfiz school management. But my son didn’t lie. He complained he was being beaten.”

A 29-year-old assistant warden in the tahfiz school the boy attended was arrested to facilitate investigations as reports emerged that he had beaten Thaqif with a rubber hose. The man, an ex-convict, was released on May 3 on a RM20,000 court bond after seven days in remand.

Since the second post-mortem found leptospirosis as the cause of Thaqif’s death, police have said that a lesser charge would be filed against the assistant warden. – September 30, 2017.