Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam said the first post-mortem on the remains of the 11-year-old tahfiz school student, who died on April 26, failed to reveal the cause of death.
“The remains have been exhumed so that the pathologists can determine the cause of death of Thaqif.
“We have the tentative diagnosis, but will not announce it.
“Let us wait for the result of the second post-mortem for the cause of death,” he told a press conference after opening the 47th scientific meeting and Golden Jubilee celebration of the Malaysian Orthopaedic Association here today.
Subramaniam said pathologists had made several findings from the first post-mortem, but were unsatisfied.
“Specialist doctors did not expect Thaqif to die after amputating his legs. His death has changed the angle of investigation.”
Thaqif was admitted to Sultan Ismail Hospital, Johor Bahru, for leg injuries allegedly sustained after being assaulted with a rubber hose by an assistant warden of the tahfiz school.
The injuries caused his legs to become infected, following which they had to be amputated. Doctors wanted to amputate his right hand, which was also infected, but the surgery was delayed when his heart became unstable.