美国工程师托德死亡事件的维基百科条目

Death of Shane Todd

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Dr. Shane Todd was an American engineer who died under mysterious circumstances at his apartment in Singapore in June 2012. Local authorities said Todd had committed suicide, but, based on various circumstantial evidence and testimonies, his parents believe he may actually have been murdered, possibly in connection with the work he had been doing at the Institute for Micro Electronics ("IME"), part of the Singaporean government-run Agency for Science, Technology and Research ("A*STAR") involving a gallium nitride-powered amplifying device for the Chinese telecom company Huawei.^[1] Todd's family noted that police had failed to properly investigate the scene of the crime, neglecting to dust for fingerprints, that the suicide notes ostensibly left by Todd were out of character, that the crime scene did not match the description given by authorities, and that a pathologist in the United States found that his body showed evidence of a struggle, rather than a suicide. In the months leading up to his death, Todd had told his family that he was increasingly anxious at work, and worried the project he was working on with the Chinese company may have been endangering U.S. national security. He had also told his family that he felt he was under threat because of his work with the Chinese.^[1] A grassroots petition has been started on the White House website (whitehouse.gov) asking President Obama to direct the Department of Justice to thoroughly investigate, under the federal witness murder statute, whether Todd was killed to keep him from talking to U.S. authorities about his work with the Chinese ^[2].

Shane Todd's parents raised their concerns and questions to the US Embassy in Singapore, to the Singapore Police, to the Agency for Science, Technology and Research ("A*STAR") run IME institute, and also asked whether the FBI could join the investigation, which would require an agreement between the Singaporean and US governments.
Todd's death was the subject of major investigative reporting in February 2013 by the Financial Times newspaper ("FT"). The FT February 15 long and detailed article presented evidence that Singapore police had not properly investigated Todd's death, and also contained allegations that the IME, part of Singapore's A*STAR national research organization, was collaborating on a project with potential military implication with Huawei, a major Chinese electronics and telecommunications company that some governments, such as Australia and the USA, have identified as a security risk
Both Huawei and A*STAR's IME institute subsequently denied that their work had progressed beyond the discussion stage,^[3] and police also defended their role in the investigation.^[4][5]
While foreign newspapers, especially the Financial Times, issued articles on this case, the Singaporean newspapers and media remained silent and did not report this news item for several months.
Shane Todd's parents have been pushing for a congressional investigation into their son's death ^{[6] [7]}. Starting from the original Financial Times investigative report ^[1], they received much needed publicity on their son's case from several major news outlets ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}. Max Baucus, a Democratic Montana senator, and Frank Wolf, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Virginia, have both met with Shane's parents. Mr Baucus has brought the case to the attention of the White House ^[12].
On Feb 28 2013, the Singapore Police Force requested help from the FBI on the case ^[13].

Background

Shane Todd had earned his bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Florida in 2003 and 2005, respectively. He then pursued doctoral studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he researched silicon-based transmission lines.^[1] Upon completion of his PhD in 2010, he took a job offer to work for IME, Institute for Micro Electronics, a Singapore government research institute part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, or A*Star. During this assignment, he worked on a project involving a cooperation between A*STAR's IME institute and Huawei Technology, a Chinese telecom company that several international governments have labeled a security threat. A project outline recovered from Shane Todd's external hard drive found in his apartment showed the IME and Huawei were co-developing an amplifying device powered by gallium nitride (GaN). Such devices have both commercial as well as military applications. Shane's role in the project involved traveling to New Jersey to procure the equipment necessary to further the GaN research from Veeco, a US publicly listed technology company.^[1]
As Todd worked on the project, he became increasingly anxious about his role. In conversations with his family, he said that he was collaborating with a Chinese company, and was "being asked to do things" that made him uncomfortable. Namely, his mother said that "he felt he was being asked to compromise American security." On one occasion, Todd told his mother that if she didn't hear from him every week, she should contact the American embassy.^[1] He turned to religion, and was prescribed antidepressants to help cope with the stress.^[1]
In late February 2012, Todd decided to leave IME and return to the United States. He put in 60 days' notice, then decided to stay an additional 30 days. As his time at IME ran down, he was offered a job with Nuvotronics, an American research firm. Friends and co-workers recalled that he was upbeat on his final day of work at IME on Friday, June 22.^[1]
Shane Todd's girlfriend, Shirley Sarmiento, expected to hear from him on Friday or Saturday, but he did not respond to her messages. On Sunday, June 24, she went to his apartment. Finding the door unlocked, she entered, and discovered Todd's body hanging from a bathroom door. A chair was about five feet away. Sarmiento then contacted Todd's family in the United States to alert them to his death.^[1]

Inconsistencies

The official autopsy report into Todd's death said that he "drilled holes into his bathroom wall, bolted in a pulley, then slipped a black strap through the pulley and wrapped it around the toilet several times. He then tethered the strap to his neck and jumped from a chair."^[1] However, when Todd's family arrived at his apartment in Singapore after receiving news of his death, they noted that the scene was not as described: there were no holes in the marble walls of the bathroom, and neither were there bolts or screws. The location of the toilet was also not where the police report indicated it was. Furthermore, there were no signs of an investigation at the scene; police had not put up crime scene tape or dusted for fingerprints.^[1]
The family also noted that Shane's home "looked like a snapshot of a man in the middle of a move," as the Financial Times put it. Before his death, Todd was in the middle of doing the laundry. He had packed boxes in preparation for his move back the United States, and had clean clothes folded on the couch. He was also apparently in the middle of trying to sell his furniture, and had been writing out price tags. His airline ticket back to the United States was on the table, but his laptop and phone had been taken away by the police.^[1]
There were other inconsistencies that caused Todd's family, friends and coworkers to suspect his death was not a suicide. Police found several suicide notes allegedly left by Todd, but his family and girlfriend told the Financial Times that they did not seem to be Shane's writing. In one note, he apologized for being a burden to his family, but his mother said he had never been a burden; he had excelled at everything, she said. Another note praised the management of IME. His girlfriend was incredulous, noting that Todd "hated his job." After his mother read the notes, she told the police detectives "My son might have killed himself, but he did not write this."^[1]
Employees at IME were reportedly told not to speak to reporters about Todd's death. However, one of Todd's colleagues did reach out to his parents, telling them "After collecting all information available, I cannot believe it is a suicide case. Actually, no one believes it...I truly hope that [the] FBI can be involved and perform further investigation.”^[1]
The FBI had, in fact, offered assistance to authorities in Singapore to investigate Shane Todd's death, but their help was refused.^[1]. However, on the 28th of Feb 2013, the Singapore Police Force requested help from the FBI on two specific areas regarding the case ^[13]. Both parties have not commented further on the details of these two specific areas. This sudden U-turn by the Singapore Police also occurred after the Senate Finance Committee, which Max Baucus ^[12] chairs, raised the issue surrounding Shane's death in face-to-face meetings the previous week with Singapore's U.S. Embassy staffers and Singaporean officials ^[6].
The official autopsy report provided by Singapore policy said that Shane Todd's cause of death was "asphyxia due to hanging." But on his body, Todd's family found bruises on his hands and a bump on his forehead, neither of which was mentioned in the autopsy report. Suspecting that his death involved foul play, they asked the mortuary to photograph Shane's body before burial, and send the photos to Dr. Edward Adelstein, chief pathologist at a veterans hospital in Missouri ^[9]. Dr. Adelstein said that Todd's wounds did not support the suicide hypothesis. Instead, it appeared Shane was involved in a fight with an attacker and died by "garrotting." The original pathologist in Singapore dismissed Dr. Adelstein's conclusions.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Bonner, Raymond; Spolar, Christine (15 February 2013). "Death in Singapore". The Financial Times. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
2. ^ Boca Grad Shane Todd: Suicide Or Murder Abroad?, BOCA news Now (1 March 2013) [1]
3. ^ Feng Zengkun (19 February 2013). Is it suicide or is it murder?. The Straits Times. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
4. ^ Spolar, Christine. (17 February 2013). Police defend probe into Singapore death. The Financial Times. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
5. ^ Reuters (February 18, 2013). "Huawei denies work in field linked to U.S. death in Singapore".
6. ^ ^{a b} Family of engineer who died in Singapore after warning of Chinese spying wants answers, FOX News (1 March 2013) [2]
7. ^ Parents of Engineer Shane Todd Plead for Investigation Into His Mysterious Death in Singapore: Was His Work With a Chinese Company a Factor?, FOX Insider (1 March 2013) [3]
8. ^ Intrigue surrounds American's death in Singapore, USA Today (28 February 2013). [4]
9. ^ ^{a b} Mysterious hanging death: Was it murder?, CNN (1 March 2013) [5]
10. ^ Calif. engineer's death in Singapore linked to cyber espionage?, CBS (1 March 2013) [6]
11. ^ Shane Todd's parents call for investigation into his death, FOX News (1 March 2013) [7]
12. ^ ^{a b} Senator takes Todd death to White House, Financial Times (Feb 28 2013) [8]
13. ^ ^{a b} FBI asked to help unravel Todd mystery, Financial Times (1 March 2013) [9]