Shane Todd inquiry: Investigator wore latex gloves when accessing laptop

The police officer who had handled a laptop in American researcher Shane Todd's bedroom, did so while wearing latex gloves, the coroner's inquiry into Dr Todd's death heard on Tuesday.

Senior investigation officer (SIO) Rayme Koh, who had gone to Dr Todd's Spottiswoode Park Road apartment on June 24 last year after his body was found, also said he had accessed the laptop using a password found on a Post-It note in the master bedroom. The laptop was in "hibernation" mode when he found it on the bed, he added.

This, slightly differed from a testimony given by a fellow police officer on Monday, which indicated that SIO Koh had not worn any gloves, said lawyer Amarjit Singh, who was engaged by Dr Todd's family for the inquiry.

When Mr Singh asked the SIO why he had not handed the laptop to the police Technology Crime Forensics Branch first, he said: "I strongly believe that (the Post-It note) was left behind for a reason. I wanted to confirm that the password was for the laptop. I wish to state that I did wear gloves when I was accessing the laptop."

The exchange was one of several dramatic moments on Day Two of the inquiry, which started on Monday.

Shortly before the inquiry broke for lunch, Senior State Counsel Tai Wei Shyong also sought to clarify various questions that had been posed by Mr Singh to SIO Koh and another police witness, including Sergeant Rajina Sharma Rajandran.

Mr Singh had asked both witnesses whether it was possible that no blood had been found in Dr Todd's home because he may have died elsewhere, and that no furniture in Dr Todd's apartment appeared disturbed because it had been rearranged.

The lawyer also asked whether SIO Koh would re-open the investigation if more evidence was presented to him.

Mr Tai asked Mr Singh whether those questions were hypothetical or allegations that the lawyer was making. "If my learned friend is raising these issues... My request is whether these were asked purely as hypotheticals, or are these the position he is taking."

Mr Singh's reply was that his questions were merely hypotheticals, to which State Coroner Chay Yuen Fatt said he would take them as such.

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