Mohd Noor Mohd Suhani, Khoo Lay See, Zamaliana Alias Wan Zafirah, Hasmi Ahmad Hafizam, Ibrahim Mohamad Azaini, Mahmood Mohd Shah
Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Malaysia.
Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia; National Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Forensic Sci Int. 2017 Sep;278:410.e1-410.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.05.014. Epub 2017 May 27.
The first ever mass identification operation of skeletal remains conducted for the clandestine graves in Malaysia consisted of 165 individuals unearthed from 28 human trafficking transit camps located in Wang Kelian, along the Thai-Malaysia border. A DVI response was triggered in which expert teams comprising of pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists, radiologists and DNA experts were gathered at the identified operation centre. The Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Star, Kedah, located approximately 75km away from Wang Kelian, was temporarily converted into a victim identification centre (VIC) as it is the nearest available forensic facility to the mass grave site. The mortuary operation was conducted over a period of 3 months from June to September 2015, and was divided into two phases; phase 1 involving the postmortem examination of the remains of 116 suspected individuals and for phase 2 the remains of 49 suspected individuals. The fact that the graves were of unknown individuals afforded the mass identification operation a sufficient duration of 2 weeks as preparatory phase enabling procedurals and daily victim identification workflow to be established, and the setting up of a temporary body storage for the designated mortuary. The temporary body storage has proven to be a significant factor in enabling the successful conclusion of the VIC operation to the final phase of temporary controlled burials. Recognition from two international observers, Mr. Andréas Patiño Umaña, from the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Prof. Noel Woodford from Victoria Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) had proven the mortuary operation was in compliance to the international quality and standards. The overall victim identification and mortuary operation identified a number of significant challenges, in particular the management of commingled human remains as well as the compilation of postmortem data in the absence of antemortem data for future reconciliation. CF Index in this DVI operation is 9%, indicating the primary identifications in this operation were effective. Limitations and further improvements of the mass identification operation will be discussed. This paper details the planning, preparations and management of the mass identification operation on the exhumed human remains which was also a forensic humanitarian service for the dead with dignity and respect.
马来西亚首次针对秘密坟墓尸骨进行的大规模身份鉴定行动，涉及从泰国-马来西亚边境的旺吉连地区28个人口贩卖中转营地发掘出的165具遗骸。此次行动触发了灾难受害者身份识别（DVI）响应机制，由病理学家、人类学家、牙科学家、放射学家和DNA专家组成的专家团队齐聚指定的行动中心。位于吉打州亚罗士打、距离旺吉连约75公里的苏丹娜巴希亚医院法医部，因其是距离乱葬岗最近的可用法医设施，被临时改造成受害者身份识别中心（VIC）。尸体检验工作于2015年6月至9月历时3个月进行，分为两个阶段；第一阶段对116名疑似人员的遗体进行尸检，第二阶段对49名疑似人员的遗体进行尸检。由于这些坟墓中的死者身份不明，可以为大规模身份鉴定行动提供为期2周的充足准备阶段，以确立程序和日常受害者身份识别工作流程，并在指定太平间设立临时尸体存放处。事实证明，临时尸体存放处是使受害者身份识别中心行动成功进入临时管控埋葬最后阶段的一个重要因素。来自红十字国际委员会（ICRC）的安德烈亚斯·帕蒂尼奥·乌马尼亚先生和维多利亚法医研究所（VIFM）的诺埃尔·伍德福德教授这两位国际观察员认可此次尸体检验工作符合国际质量和标准。整个受害者身份识别及尸体检验行动面临一些重大挑战，尤其是混合人类遗骸的管理，以及在缺乏生前数据以供未来核对的情况下尸检数据的编纂。此次DVI行动中的身份识别率（CF Index）为9%，表明此次行动中的初步身份鉴定是有效的。本文将讨论大规模身份鉴定行动的局限性及进一步改进措施。本文详细介绍了对挖掘出的人类遗骸进行大规模身份鉴定行动的规划、准备和管理情况，这也是一项为逝者提供尊严与尊重的法医人道主义服务。
