Medico-legal autopsies of homicidal deaths: A five-year retrospective study in Hospital Sungai Bul

@#Introduction: Homicide is the act of killing one human being by another, encompassing death as a result of criminal act including justifiable homicide such as judicial killing and self-defence. This study aimed to ascertain the epidemiology and patterns of injury of homicide victims. Materials and Methods: We reviewed records of medico-legal autopsy cases performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sungai Buloh, for a period of five years, from January 2012 until December 2016. Subjects’ demographic data such as age, gender, nationality, ethnicity and cause of death were recorded. Results: A total of 122 homicide cases were documented. 90% of the victims were 18 to 65 years old. Males contributed 80% of the subjects. An alarming 42% of the subjects comprised of non-Malaysians. Indonesian subjects contributed one-third of the non-citizen category, followed by Bangladeshis at 20.4%. Other nationalities were Burmese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Vietnamese and unspecified. Among Malaysians, 50% of the subjects were Indians, followed by Malay (31.5%) and Chinese (17.8%). Sharp and blunt force traumas were the most common injuries found, contributing 33% and 32% respectively. Asphyxiation and firearm injuries recorded an almost similar frequency, contributing 25% in combination. Other patterns included combined sharp and blunt objects (4.9%) and burns (3%). Conclusions: A large number of immigrants in the country have significantly increased the forensic casework. Sharp and blunt objects continue to be the weapon of choice due to its easy accessibility. As domestic violence including fatal spousal and child abuse continue to rise, in-depth study in the area is warranted. Keywords: h

The Status of Occupational Accidents and Injuries and the Implications / 대한산업의학회지

Since 1964, when the official statistics on occupational injury rates had been produced for the first time, the rates have showed a steady decline until 2000. However, the injury rate has been stagnant since 2000 although the fatal injury rate has decreased 40% in the same period. The non-fatal injury rate per 100 employees was 0.63 while the fatal injury rate per 100,000 employees was 9.74 in 2010. Traumatic injuries accounted for 86.8% of all injuries, followed by non-traumatic injuries at 8.4% and injuries by traffic accidents at 4.6%. Injuries caused by being caught in objects, hit by flying or falling objects and collisions have decreased while those caused by slip and fall on same level and fall from the height have increased. The decrease in injuries caused by being caught in objects may be the result of prevention efforts because 68.6% of them occurred in the manufacturing industry where most efforts for prevention have been invested. The increase in injuries involving slips and falls on same level may be caused by the growing number of employees in the service industry where 51% of the cases occurred. The construction industry accounted for 40.2% of all fatal injuries, and falls from the height caused 54.3% of the fatality. The non-fatal injury rate of Korea is lower than that of industrialized countries while its fatal injury rate is comparatively higher. It is probably caused by many unclaimed cases of mild non-fatal injuries whereas most fatal injuries were filed. Another problem is that the injury rate does not include injuries that occur to workers who are not eligible for the compensation scheme. This information can be obtained through a surveillance system or the national survey. Therefore, the attention of occupational physicians should focus on injuries as well as diseases occurring at work, and also on all working population whose injuries and diseases are not covered by the compensation scheme.

Fatal Injury Due to Shattered Fragments of Brittle Materials / 대한법의학회지

With fragments of brittle materials including glasses, ceramics, metals, plastics, and stones, various wounds can be formed by accident or homicide. We experienced two cases with fatal injury from shattering of brittle materials accidentally. In the first case, a woman died from the left subclavian artery transection by a projected fragment from a mug shattering. In the second case, a man pilfer died of the right popliteal artery and vein transection by fragments from shattering of a glass bottle. We represented these cases to adress it in depth the significance of deaths associated with fatal injuries caused by shattered fragments of brittle materials on the viewpoints of forensic pathology.