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IN THE CORONER’S COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE CORONER’S INQUIRY NO. 2014/2012 DECEASED: SHANE TRUMAN TODD FINDINGS CI 2014/2012 Findings TABLE OF CONTENTS FINDINGS ........................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PROCEEDINGS ......................................... 1 NATURE OF INQUIRIES UNDER THE ACT .......................................................... 1 THE ROLE OF STATE COUNSEL ........................................................................ 2 PROPERLY INTERESTED PERSONS .................................................................... 2 ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED ....................................................................... 7 PRELIMINARY ISSUE .................................................................................. 8 THE DECEASED’S LIFE IN SINGAPORE .............................................. 12 THE DECEASED’S BACKGROUND IN THE US .................................................. 12 RELOCATING TO SINGAPORE ......................................................................... 13 THE DECEASED’S WORK AT THE IME ............................................................ 13 The scope of the deceased’s work at the IME from December 2010 to March 2011 .............................................................................................. 14 The scope of the deceased’s work at the IME from March 2011 to June 2012 ......................................................................................................... 14 The IME’s purchase of the MOCVD System from Veeco ........................ 16 The IME’s dealings with Huawei ............................................................. 18 The IME’s dealings with Aurrion ............................................................ 22 THE DECEASED’S LIFE FROM MARCH 2012 ONWARDS .................................. 26 The deceased’s psychiatric condition ...................................................... 26 The deceased’s complaints to his family .................................................. 27 CI 2014/2012 Findings THE DECEASED’S RESIGNATION FROM THE IME ............................................ 28 THE FINAL DAYS OF THE DECEASED’S LIFE .................................................... 30 THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE DECEASED’S DEATH .............. 32 EVENTS ON 24 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 32 The discovery of the deceased’s body ...................................................... 32 The arrival of the police ........................................................................... 34 The police investigations at the scene ...................................................... 37 Further events .......................................................................................... 42 EVENTS ON 25 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 43 EVENTS ON 26 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 43 EVENTS ON 27 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 43 EVENTS ON 28 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 45 EVENTS ON 29 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 46 EVENTS ON 30 JUNE 2012 ............................................................................. 50 SUBSEQUENT ACTION BY THE TODD FAMILY ................................................. 50 SUBSEQUENT ACTION BY IO KHALDUN ........................................................ 51 EVENTS IN DECEMBER 2012 ......................................................................... 52 CAUSE OF THE DECEASED’S DEATH .................................................. 54 THE AUTOPSY REPORT ................................................................................... 54 DR ADELSTEIN’S REPORT DATED 8 OCTOBER 2012 ...................................... 55 THE EXPERTS’ RESPONSE TO DR ADELSTEIN’S REPORT ................................. 56 DR ADELSTEIN’S EVIDENCE DURING THE CI ................................................. 58 THE EXPERTS’ RESPONSE TO DR ADELSTEIN’S EVIDENCE DURING THE CI .... 62 Weight of the deceased’s lungs ................................................................ 62 Absence of petechiae ................................................................................ 63 CI 2014/2012 Findings Alleged bruises ......................................................................................... 65 The deceased’s hands ........................................................................... 65 The deceased’s neck ............................................................................ 66 The deceased’s forehead ...................................................................... 67 The deceased’s ear ............................................................................... 67 The causes of death suggested by Dr Adelstein ....................................... 68 THIS COURT’S FINDING ON THE CAUSE OF DEATH .......................................... 69 FOUL PLAY OR SUICIDE? ........................................................................ 75 AUTHENTICITY OF THE EVIDENCE ................................................................. 76 The deceased’s HP Laptop ...................................................................... 76 st nd The 1 and 2 Post-It Notes .................................................................... 77 The PDF Note .......................................................................................... 79 The data on the deceased’s HTC mobile phone....................................... 89 Photographs taken by the police .............................................................. 89 This court’s finding on the authenticity of the evidence .......................... 90 THE NOK’S ALLEGATION OF FOUL PLAY ...................................................... 90 Possession of confidential and valuable classified information .............. 91 The Potential GaN Power Amplifier Project ........................................... 95 The non-materialisation of the Potential GaN Amplifier Project ........ 95 Violation of export control laws / use for military applications .......... 98 The deceased’s involvement with both Veeco and Huawei .............. 103 The deceased’s HDD ............................................................................. 104 The access on 23 June 2012 ............................................................... 104 The access on 27 June 2012 ............................................................... 107 Possible types of foul play ..................................................................... 111 THE DECEASED’S MENTAL STATE ................................................................ 113 CI 2014/2012 Findings THE SCENE FOUND ON 24 JUNE 2012 ........................................................... 126 OTHER CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE ........................................................... 132 SUMMARY OF THIS COURT’S FINDINGS.......................................... 139 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 144 CI 2014/2012 Findings INTRODUCTION 1 These findings arise out of Coroner’s Inquiry No 2014/2012 (“CI”), which was an inquiry into the death of Shane Truman Todd (“the deceased”) under the Coroners Act (Cap 63A, 2012 Rev Ed) (“the Act”). The deceased was a Caucasian male citizen of the United States of America (“US”) and was 31 years old at the time of his passing. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PROCEEDINGS 2 It would be useful, at the outset, to give a brief overview of the proceedings. Nature of inquiries under the Act 3 I turn first to the nature of inquiries under the Act. Section 27(1) of the Act provides that the “purpose of an inquiry into the death of any person is to inquire into the cause of and circumstances connected with the death”. To this end, the same section provides that a coroner’s inquiry must be directed to ascertaining the identity of the deceased, as well as how, when and where the deceased came by his death, insofar as these matters may be ascertained. 4 Section 27(2) of the Act also specifically provides that the Coroner at an inquiry “shall not frame a finding in such a way as to determine any question of criminal, civil or disciplinary liability, but shall not be inhibited in the discharge of his functions by any likelihood of liability being inferred from facts that he determines or recommendations that he makes”. In short, an inquiry governed by the Act is to be a fact-finding inquiry, not a fault-finding one. Other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong have also adopted such a legal framework. The importance of CI 2014/2012 Findings having the proper appreciation of the nature of inquiries governed by the Act will be apparent later (see [265] below). The role of State Counsel 5 Pursuant to regs 3(1)(a) and 3(2) of the Coroners (Conduct of Proceedings) Regulations 2011 (S 548/2011), a Deputy Public Prosecutor may assist a Coroner in the conduct of an inquiry by, amongst other things, presenting the results of the investigation into the cause of and circumstances connected with the death; tendering any evidence