"Major controversy" - an External Cavity that was not

With reference to "The Curious Incident of the Tembusu Tree that Fell" and the slew of news articles published yesterday.

The Coroner, Mr Marvin Bay referred to the last inspection of the tree on Sep 29, 2016 as a "major controversy" in the case.

In the inspection done on 29 Sep 2016, later revealed to be done by senior manager (also arborist) Thaddaeus Cheng (ISA Certified Arborist, Cert. ID: SG-0621A), found a 1.5m long "cavity". His supervisor, deputy director Elango Velautham, "also inspected the tree as a follow-up to Mr Cheng’s report". He noted that a "flute" was "wrongly perceived" as a cavity at the Coroner's Inquiry on 30 Aug 2017.

However in the news article on 30 Apr 2018, it was written that Elango Velautham explained during the inquiry that upon further inspection, that he found that "it was not an external cavity and that there was no decay", and the arborist used the word "cavity" due to the limitation of the inspection form.

So was it "wrongly perceived", or was it "rightly perceived but written wrongly"? And again, it was not known whether the "wrong perception" was discovered before or after the tree fell.

Also during the inquiry on 30 Aug 2017, the lawyer acting for Angara's family had questioned "the absence of documentary proof showing how the misdiagnosis was determined". Perhaps that statement lead to the Coroner remarking that it would be useful that tree inspections for large and old trees be accompanied by photographs, which "can allow a more cogent analysis of the actual baseline health of the tree".

A flute of an Angsana tree in Clementi.

---
Some cheem words found in the news articles:

Cadre - a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled work force.
"They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members."
 Cogent - (of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing.
"They put forward cogent arguments for British membership."
Obviate - avoid or prevent (something undesirable).
"A parachute can be used to obviate disaster."
Remiss - lacking care or attention to duty; negligent.
"It would be very remiss of me not to pass on that information."
Wherewithal - the money or other means needed for a particular purpose.
"They lacked the wherewithal to pay."