[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by ArchmageXin

And how many Chinese News Service are not state owned? Somebody have to do talk shows and have chinese version of Rush Limbaugh running around...

I won't belabour the point. After all, Singapore media suffers from the same public perception. It's not what the media chooses to put out; it's the unavoidable fact that, as long as the media is state-owned, it is hard to persuade the public that whatever content it broadcasts has not been approved by Big Brother.

==========

Last one for tonight. The long-anticipated coroner's inquiry into the death of American engineer Shane Todd in Singapore has entered its fifth day. The Singapore authorities continue to provide evidence that strongly dispute allegations of murder and conspiracy by Dr Todd's parents.

The issue was sparked by a Financial Times article published in February this year, and first quoted in this thread by RRW.

Shane Todd's parents essentially imply that Singapore police had been unprofessional and incompetent, missing vital evidence that apparently show that he had been murdered to keep secret highly sensitive research on gallium nitride (GaN) between Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics and China's Huawei. The Chinese company has been deemed by United States lawmakers as a security risk, as it allegedly makes communications equipment that could be used for spying.

At the heart of the investigation is a hard disk that the Todd parents allegedly found in Shane's swanky home in Singapore, and which they claim contains proof of their allegations.

Here's a run-down of the key findings from the coroner's inquiry:

FBI clears up external hard drive mystery

Singapore (May 14, Tue): The external hard drive accessed by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) three days after American engineer Shane Todd was found dead in his Singapore apartment in June last year was identical to the one the Todd family handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to examine in March this year, according to a report by the FBI.

At the ongoing coroner's inquiry into Mr Todd's death, the court heard yesterday that the FBI had come to this conclusion after the SPF had officially asked the FBI on March 19 this year to confirm whether the two external hard drives were, in fact, one and the same.

THE BUSINESS TIMES

Shane Todd not an expert on gallium nitride

Singapore (May 17, Fri): American researcher Shane Todd was never involved in any sensitive or highly-confidential military and defence-related projects while working for Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics.

This according to four of his colleagues who took the stand on the fifth day of the inquiry into his death.

They testified today that the group he was part of did not have any sensitive research projects with Huawei involving a semiconductor material called Gallium Nitride (GaN). GaN has commercial uses but has potential to be used in military applications.

IME's deputy executive director for research, Dr Patrick Lo, said there were meetings between IME and Huawei.

He said that these meetings and preliminary talks were about a possible collaboration between the IME's GaN research group and Huawei on a potential commercial product called a GaN amplifier, and also for Huawei to understand the capabilities of the GaN research group. However, for various reasons, it didn't materialise into an actual project.

Three other colleagues took the stand to give details about their working relationships with Dr Todd.

The court heard that Dr Todd had told his colleagues that transferring to the GaN group was a mistake. He said he had difficulties because his area of expertise was in silicon, and that he lacked knowledge in GaN.

CHANNEL NEWS ASIA

American researcher visited suicide websites

Singapore (May 13, Mon): American engineer Shane Todd had searched for suicide-related websites 19 times in the four months leading up to his death, said Senior State Counsel Tai Wei Shyong in his opening statement during the first day of the coroner's inquiry into his death.

After the 31-year-old was found hanged in his apartment near Chinatown on June 24 last year, 19 pills containing Citalopram, an anti-depressant, were also found in his home, a conserved shophouse.

Dr Todd was found dead shortly after he quit the Singapore Institute of Microelectronics, which he had joined in 2010. It was his first job after graduating with a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

THE STRAITS TIMES

S'pore police explain protocol for handling hanged bodies

Singapore (May 17, Fri): Police protocols came under scrutiny by lawyers for the Todd family, who asked repeatedly on Tuesday (May 14) if actions taken at the scene of their son's death had hampered investigations.

First responders to Dr Shane Todd's home had found him hanging from a strap against his bathroom door. They immediately took his body down by cutting above the improvised noose. This is in accordance with standard police procedures, said officers who took the stand today.

They reiterated that it is protocol to bring down a body in a hanging case as the priority is to save a life. They added that this was "common among many established police forces".

THE STRAITS TIMES, CHANNEL NEWS ASIA

Meanwhile:

Tearful father of Shane Todd says family trusts court

Singapore (May 17, Fri): A tearful Rick Todd publicly apologised on behalf of his wife who had called the Singapore court system "corrupt" as a much-watched inquiry into the death of their son, an American scientist working on sensitive research, finished its fourth day.

"We'd just seen a lot of pictures of our son – our dead son – and it was a very emotional morning. We're sorry the word 'corrupt' came out, and we have faith in the Singapore court system,” he told reporters.

His wife Mary had called the Singapore court process "corrupt" when speaking to reporters earlier yesterday.

WALL STREET JOURNAL