Police say they have uncovered a direct link between a suspect and the high profile rape and robbery case he was arrested for, almost two months after he committed suicide in police custody.
DNA samples taken from the 22-year-old victim during a rape exam are confirmed to be a match for the 48-year-old now-deceased suspect, reports say. According to Apple Daily, police said the test results show that the suspect, surnamed Lam, was “directly involved” in the case.
Further details have not been released as police are yet to present their report on the suspect’s death to the Coroner’s Court.
Lam was found dead in his cell at Sau Mau Ping Police Station on May 11, one day after he was arrested over the hours-long rape and robbery of a 22-year-old unidentified student under a bridge in Kwun Tong. Police later said the 48-year-old had hanged himself to death with a computer cable.
Lam’s death sparked an outcry from the public, who accused police of negligence for allowing the man to obtain the cable. Earlier news reports also alleged that police officers responsible for inspecting custody cells may have signed the patrol log without actually checking the cells.
In response to the scandals, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo tasked the Kowloon West Region crime unit to investigate Lam’s death and to determine whether police negligence or a security lapse was a factor in the incident.
After learning the DNA test result, Lam’s brother, who insisted that his brother had been framed, renewed his repeated calls for a thorough investigation into his death, Apple Daily reports. “His death is peculiar,” he said.
Police are expected to complete the probe into Lam’s cause of death within the month.
