(Sept 25): Attorney-General (A-G) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali and some 100 officers from the A-G’s Chambers today paid their last respects to murdered deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais at the Nirvana Memorial Centre in Jalan Sungai Besi.

Morais’s body was found in a concrete-filled oil drum in a river at a secluded area in Subang Jaya on Sept 16, 12 days after he was abducted while on his way to work.

Apandi, when approached after visiting the family, said about 100 officers came today to pay their last respects to their former colleague.

“We are here in solidarity for Kevin. About 100 came in a bus and cars,” said Apandi, before leaving the premises.

He declined to comment when asked if the family had given other details, especially why they have refused to claim the Morais’s body until now.

Apandi arrived at the centre at 9.30am today, followed by a busload of Morais’s former colleagues some 20 minutes later.

They assembled at the concourse area before proceeding to the second floor where the wake was held at 10.15am.

Morais’s youngest brother Datuk Richard Dilaan Morais arrived about 10 minutes later to join the group.

The wake was held as scheduled although Morais's body is still in the mortuary.

His family members have refused to endorse the release of his remains, a close relative said yesterday.

The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Morais's immediate family members had refused to sign the endorsement letter to release the body.

"The family has yet to decide on when to claim the body but it will be publicised," he said.

It is not known whether the family has requested a second post-mortem or what their next move will be.

Richard today refused to speak to the media about the family's plans.

Yesterday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said that the body had yet to be claimed as DNA results needed to be confirmed.

This was contrary to Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad's statement last Saturday that DNA results and chemistry tests showed that the body found in a cement-filled oil drum on Sept 16 was that of Morais.

However, it was reported that Zainuddin later clarified his statement and said Morais's family have refused to claim his body as they first want a confirmation on the cause of his death.

“His family members are not claiming his body yet because his cause of death has not been ascertained.

“They want to know that first before proceeding and the police will be meeting them tomorrow to discuss this issue,” he reportedly said.

Morais, 55, was abducted on Sept 4 while on his way to work after leaving his home in Menara Duta, Kuala Lumpur, in a government-issued grey Proton Perdana bearing the registration number WA6264Q.

The car was found torched in Perak the next day. His body, meanwhile, was found on Sept 16 in a cement-filled oil drum dumped in the river in a secluded area of Subang Jaya.

Morais was deputy chief of the Appellate and Trial Division in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and had been seconded to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for a stint.

Police have so far detained 11 people, including a military doctor, in connection with the murder. – The Malaysian Insider