Shane Todd inquiry: FBI backs evidence that police had recovered and examined hard drive

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has backed evidence presented in court, which showed that the hard drive in the centre of the Shane Todd coroner's inquiry was recovered by the police at the American researcher's home where he was found hanged.

The United States law enforcement agency also confirmed that it is the same hard drive that the Singapore police had returned to Dr Todd's parents after his death on Jun 28 last year.

This was also a day after police had examined the hard drive and determined that it was not relevant to the its investigations, said the FBI.

State Counsel Teo Lu Jia revealed this on Tuesday when she presented a report by the FBI during the coroner's inquiry into Dr Todd's death.

Dr Todd, 31, was found hung in his Chinatown apartment on the evening of Jun 24 last year by his girlfriend, His parents were quoted in a Financial Times article published in February, saying that they had found the hard drive in Dr Todd's apartment, which they visited after his death. The article then said a computer expert the family hired found that a "shadow" file was created when someone accessed the hard drive on June 27, and subsequently deleted.

Assistant Superintendent Soong Yen Peng, from the Criminal Investigation Department's Technology Crime Forensic Branch (TCFB), however, told the court that the file was a temporary file automatically created and deleted when a Microsoft Office file is open and closed.

She confirmed a report she filed for the TCFB that police investigating officer Muhammad Khaldun had plugged into his laptop and accessed on the evening of Jun 27.

The FBI report also concurred with ASP Soong's findings.

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