COURT inquiries into cases of unnatural death should be merely fact-finding missions, instead of exercises into whether anyone should shoulder the blame.

The Law Ministry also wants to extend the coroner's powers to allow him to look into deaths suspected to be the result of medical treatment gone wrong.

Other amendments include giving the coroner expert help in determining the causes and circumstances of a death.

If passed, the new Bill will allow coroners to appoint two assessors from a panel to help him.It will also allow the coroner or Public Prosecutor to direct a forensic pathologist, who is trained specially to ascertain the cause of deaths, to probe such cases.

By doing this, the Bill recognises that the police and coroner might not be equipped to handle complex medical cases and sophisticated medical procedures.

If accepted, the changes will bring Singapore in line with the practice in several other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The new Bill is up for public feedback from today until Aug7. It comes about a year after a panel of district judges and medical experts produced a book on coroner's practice and studies on the issue over time by ministry officials.

Coroner's inquiries are convened when a person dies in a sudden or unnatural manner, in official custody, or where the cause of death is unknown.

Currently, a coroner can order that arrests, or a criminal investigation, take place as a result of his findings. In 2005, for example, four SAF soldiers were named as potential defendants following the drowning of a serviceman during training. They were subsequently charged and convicted.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

The consultation paper and draft Coroner's Bill can be viewed at at www.minlaw.gov.sg. You can e-mail responses to MLAW_Consultation@mlaw.gov.sg or fax them to 6332-8842.