No foul play involved in US researcher\'s death in Singapore

A state coroner ruled Monday that U.S. researcher Shane Todd, whose death in Singapore last year made headlines, committed suicide, with no foul play involved. In a 145-page verdict, State Cononer Chay Yuen Fatt said he accepted that the cause of Todd\'s death was asphyxia by hanging. \"After considering all the evidence before me, I was also satisfied that there was no foul play involved in the deceased\'s death,\" he said. The judge also noted that Todd had suicidal tendency and that there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of Todd\'s suicide note. There was no evidence, either, to suggest that the researcher had been involved with any sensitive research as part of his work at the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a unit of Singapore\'s Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Todd\'s family was not in court on Monday, but lawyers who once represented the family during the coroner\'s inquiry were present. Todd, 31, came to Singapore for his first job after earning a doctor\'s degree in the United States. He was found hanging from the bathroom door in his apartment on the second floor of a shophouse in downtown Singapore on June 24 last year, with suicide notes and letters found on his computer. FAMILY\'S CLAIMS Singapore police concluded after an investigation that Todd committed suicide. His parents, however, insisted that it was impossible for their son to take his own life and suspected foul play. They alleged that their son lost his life over a research collaboration between the Institute of Microelectronics and Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co. ltd. Huawei, which has been locked out of the U.S. market due to so- called \"national security fears,\" said that the alleged collaboration did not even materialize. Singapore\'s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K. Shanmugam told reporters on Monday that the main claims put forward by the family to support their conspiracy theory were \" untrue\" or \"pure fantasies.\" The Todd family has claimed that they found a hard disk drive ignored by the Singapore police and that it contained data on the sensitive research that may have led to their son\'s death. The disk had been examined and given to the Todds in the presence of U.S. embassy officials, Shanmugam said. Todd\'s parents also claimed that their son\'s computer were accessed several days after his death. Shanmugam said the Singapore police officer who processed the case accessed the computer. Edward Adelstein, a U.S. expert, has said at first in a report commissioned by the family that Todd was killed by garroting. However, Shanmugam said Adelstein partly retracted his opinion when he testified through a video link, adding that this is \" farcical.\" At least four other forensic experts, including two from the United States, had concluded that Todd committed suicide, as no internal injury or signs of foul play were found. FAIR, TRANSPARENT Shanmugam said the family chose to walk out of court proceedings citing the appearance of \"a surprise witness\" as an excuse, but that they could have stayed to help make clear how the claims evolved. \"I think the world can see what we have done,\" the minister said. \"All I can say is that we have acted according to the law to get to the truth. This is what we would do in every case of unnatural death.\" The U.S. Embassy in Singapore said in a statement on Monday that it considered the court proceedings in the coroner\'s inquiry \"fair and transparent.\" Shanmugam said he did not expect the case to have an impact on the cooperation between Singapore and the United States. AMERICAN AND BRITISH MEDIA Shanmugam also said that the Financial Times and the Associated Press had carried the claims made by the family without due verification, and continued to \"recycle\" the claims later. He said he was hoping that the Financial Times would do the \" honorable\" thing, correcting their errors and setting out the facts. However, the government will not go so far as to pursue a lawsuit even if the newspaper does not do this, he added. The death of Todd made headlines after his parents sought help from the Financial Times, which carried a lengthy report presenting the conspiracy theories and questions put forward by the Todds. The parents also sought help from U.S. lawmakers to put pressure on Singapore, even asking for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to supervise the probe in Singapore. The coroner\'s inquiry began on May 21 this year, with more than 50 witnesses lined up to take the stand, including forensic experts from both Singapore and the United States, police officers and Todd\'s girl friend, neighbor and former colleagues. The court heard that Todd had been suffering from depression in the months before his death and that there were signs that Todd visited suicide websites. The former colleagues and the police officers also refuted the family\'s claim that Todd was involved in sensitive technology transfer. The Todd family stormed out of the court and fired their lawyers on May 21, after Adelstein partly retracted his opinion that Todd had been murdered by garroting. The Singaporean government said it was regrettable that the Todds walked out of the court proceedings but the coroner\'s inquiry continued despite their absence. The family has said that they intended to push for an investigation by the U.S. Congress.