Review of Forensic Entomology Cases from Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2002

Abstract

Abstract

Forensic entomology was utilized to determine the post-mortem interval of eight forensic cases sent for autopsy examination at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia between January to December, 2002. Five species of sarcosaprophagous flies: Chrysomya megacephala, Ch. rufifacies, Hermetia illucens, Eristalis tenax and a sarcophagid fly were found among the maggot specimens received by the Forensic Entomology Laboratory, Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The maggots were collected from dead bodies found, among others, in packed curtains, a building, a secondary forest, an oil-palm estate, inside a tank, and a river. Ch. megacephala was the main species found in all cases. The estimated Post-mortem Interval (PMI) ranged between 4 days and > 30 days.

Keywords : forensic entomology, post-mortem interval, decomposing bodies