Record breaking 8,000 bodies discovered in Hong Kong last year: a forensic anthropologist’s perspective on those ‘no suspicion’ cases (Excerpt)
Translated by Guardians of Hong KongThe latest Financial Committee documents revealed that there were 8,148 bodies discovered and 713 suicide cases in 2019. The figures were higher than the previous year (2018). Body discovery cases have reached a record high over last 3 years. With broken trust between the police and the public, some people are querying whether those who died under ‘no suspicion’ of foul play classified by Hong Kong police were really not suspicious.
Forensic anthropologist Winsome Lee considered that the police’s conclusion on these cases is not the final answer. She reminded the public that there is a role for forensic experts. Yet, she agreed that if the investigation departments have been more transparent in disclosing and explaining the cases, they can probably restore part of public confidence. She believed that it will be beneficial to the overall social atmosphere.
Seasoned forensic doctor Philip Beh mentioned that “Whether the death was suspicious or not? It is not for the police to conclude but for the coroner’s court to determine whether the case is a natural death or an unnatural death? Was it a suicide or a homicide?” Police and forensics have their own investigations and they submit the reports to the coroner’s court to determine the cause of death. When there are differences and contradictions in the results of the investigations between the two sides, there is a chance to request for a coroner’s hearing and a jury will determine whether there is any suspicion in the death. Therefore, from a medical and scientific perspective, it may be possible to speak for these silent bodies to find explanations. However, Lee admitted that “it may still be impossible to find out what was behind the deaths or why these deaths happened.”
The current situation is such that nobody knows whether the forensics team had been to the sites while the police concluded that there was no suspicion and with no examination of the bodies. “It made people feel that there was something hidden?” Lee stated that some may think that it is better “not to say too much” because “the public doesn’t need to know” and therefore, they did not disclose further information. Lee said, “It is exactly because of this information gap that is causing communication problems which in turn worsens the misunderstanding.”
Born in the 80s, Winsome Lee holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Oregon. She obtained her post-graduate studies in Anthropology and Forensic Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and University of Leicester. She recalled that she used to think everything “ended” at the moment the heart stopped beating before she entered the science field. Actually ,a corpse continues to metamorphose in reaction to external environment conditions, such as weather and seasons. It is a process. Lee urged people “not to be overwhelmed by their emotions.” She said that people should calmly think about whether the changes in the bodies were consistent with the surrounding environment when considering whether there is foul play behind.
Lee does not recommend people to upload faces of the deceased to the internet for ethical reasons and out of respect for the dead. She understands that when the public do not trust the authority, they want to do whatever they can to preserve something or some records, hoping that such injustice will not happen to other people. She reminds people to be careful not to contaminate environmental evidence because of their presence at the scene or accidentally destroy critical clues. Therefore, it is important (for unrelated people) to avoid unnecessary contacts (with the bodies) by keeping considerable distance from the scenes.
Signs of war crime from the wounds of HKCU and PolyU
It is worthy to note that Lee travelled to Somalia to investigate war crimes in 2018. During the unprecedented social movement in Hong Kong this past year, Lee saw signs of war crime. From the written response provided by the Security Bureau to the Financial Committee of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong police has deployed 16,191 rounds of tear gas, 1,880 rings of sponge grenades, 10,100 rubber bullets, 2,033 bean bag rounds, 1,491 canisters of pepper spray, 107 canisters of tear gas spray, 40 canisters of pepper balls and 19 live ammunition as of 29 Feb 2020.
Lee pointed out that even just judging by the magnitude and frequency of (police brutality) imposed on civilians during their siege of the HKCU No.2 Bridge and HK Polytechnic University, she can find similarities from a war crimes research perspective. It is internationally recognised that even during wars military generally do not attack any schools, medical facilities, civil residence, medics and any places that have hoisted the Red Cross sign at conflict sites. Yet, first aid volunteers and volunteer paramedics were arrested and suffered from different degrees of injuries during police operations in Hong Kong. This is why the HKCU and HK Polytechnic University incidents attracted foreign attention.
Lee said that despite shared similarities with wars in the conflicts between Hong Kong police and civilians, the police actions still cannot be defined as war crime because any protest movements triggered by government policy cannot be classified as a war. This is why many human rights organisations can only beat around the bush when raising international awareness of police brutality in Hong Kong.
Lee also serves as a forensic consultant in Hong Kong in addition to her overseas work. After all, there are not many people who know how to handle unnatural death cases. Many surviving families of the deceased seek her views. The public is always wondering if “somebody might be suicided”, so Lee and morticians, such as Ng Guilin, along with others different professional sectors launched the “Walk With the Passed” initiative to assist surviving family members of those who passed away from sudden unnatural death to get through the difficult times. The program provides funeral advisory, emotional support, forensic advisory, preparation of bodies for funerals as well as dealing with properties of the deceased . Lee’s expertise areas are to assist family members to seek forensic examination and interpretation of forensic reports.
Source : Hong Kong Citizen News