Thursday May 7, 2009

Brother: Sujatha took her own life

By NURBAITI HAMDAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Actress K. Sujatha killed herself – that’s the testimony of her brother at an inquest held to determine the cause of her death.

“Yes, my sister committed suicide,” said K. Yugenthiran, 28, to a question on whether he agreed that 29-year-old Sujatha, who allegedly died of paraquat poisoning, took her own life.

However, he said he did not know what drove his sister to commit the act.

To another question by DPP Geethan Ram Vincent, Yugenthiran admitted to cleaning up Sujatha’s house with detergent and throwing away a bottle that was believed to contain the pesticide.

“I went to her house and saw the mess. The smell of vomit and chemical was strong, so I cleaned up the place,” he said.

Yugenthiran said it did not occur to him to keep the bottle, which still had some greenish liquid left in it, adding that he did not read the label on the container.

Geethan then showed Yugen-thiran a bottle containing some greenish liquid and asked if it was the same bottle.

“The bottle at the house was bigger although it appears to be the same,” he said.

Wearing a dark blue shirt and black slacks, Yugenthiran wiped tears from his eyes when he spoke about the frantic moments after Sujatha downed the poison.

He said he asked Sujatha a few times why she drank the poison while she was warded at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital but she became irritated with his questions.

Yugenthiran was responding to questions by Geethan, who is assisting coroner Mohd Faizi Che Abu in the inquest to determine the cause of Sujatha’s death.

Asked if Sujatha had personal problems, Yugenthiran said no.

Geethan: Any family or work problems?

Yugenthiran: Family problems, yes, we had.

Geethan: I assume it was about your parents?

Yugenthiran: Yes.

Geethan: Any work-related problems?

Yugenthiran: No.

To another question, Yugenthi-ran said he was not aware that his sister was pregnant.

Another witness, Asst Supt Azizan Hashim, said he went to the house 39 days after Sujatha’s death and found the house clean.

The inquest continues today.