Singapore police admit failings in death of American

Singapore police who examined the scene of an American’s death admitted on the last day of a coroner’s inquest that they deviated from official protocols by not dusting for fingerprints or collecting DNA samples, and by examining the contents of a laptop computer on the spot.

Shane Truman Todd’s body was found in his apartment by his girlfriend last June, and police have said he killed himself. State lawyers presented evidence of links to suicide websites on the 31-year-old’s laptop and suicide letters written to family members and loved ones.

Mr Todd’s parents, Rick and Mary Todd, told Associated Press in March that they believed he may have been murdered over his research in the US into material used to make heat-resistant semiconductors, a technology with both civilian and military applications. The Todds have received assistance in the case from US senators and the FBI.