Editorial from: Mysinchew.com

Wanted: Pornthip’s head!

Thai pathologist Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunan has promised to bring Teoh Beng Hock’s case to justice by requesting an exhumation of the dead political aide’s body for a second post-mortem, making her a well-known legendary figure across this country.

She fears no evil, and has over the past three decades brought justice to countless unjustifiably killed victims.

That explains why a million-baht tag has been placed on her head!

Guang Ming Daily travelled all the way to Thailand to talk to her. Other than seeing her dissect dead bodies in her white overall, we also saw her tender side as a Thai woman, a mother, and a wife.

Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death has yet to be solved. Under the recommendation of their lawyer, Teoh’s family agreed to invite internationally acclaimed pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunan to conduct a second post-mortem with the hope of unearthing any hidden truth.

Thanks to the intervention by Pornthip to conduct a second post-mortem on a wealthy Thai MP back in 1999, earlier police reports pointing at him committing suicide was overturned, resulting in a drastic twist in the development of the case.

Heads-on with the authorities

Pornthip fears no evil and would even go against the will of the authorities just to bring out the truth.

She has gained tremendous popularity since, but that has also made her a target of some people. Her life has been constantly under intimidation.

Pornthip said after she overturned the police report that the wealthy MP had committed suicide, she had received numerous unidentified calls threatening her life.

She was warned to stay clear of the case, or “a post-mortem will be conducted ON YOU tomorrow!”

That was only a beginning. Pornthip said the analyses she did on the six pieces of earplugs found at the site of an explosion in southern Thailand three years ago allowed the police to detain two suspects. One of the suspects was subsequently sentenced to death while the hearing of the other is still being conducted.

Since then, she has been told by the police that her head was wanted by certain people in southern Thailand.

“They offered at least one million baht (approximately RM100,000) for my head, but I’m not afraid of it!

“I’m well aware that my head fetches a good price, but I won’t chicken out, but will instead be more determined to get the truth out of the dark.”

A good price on the head of “Doctor of Death”

Popularly known as the “Doctor of Death,” Pornthip is someone who would never give up things easily. That said, she is well aware of the fact that she is constantly walking on a tightrope, and does not know when she will miss and fall to her death.

Militants, underground outfits, even hostile politicians have been offering rewards to get her wiped out from the face of the earth.

She often leads her team to the sites, especially of cases involving explosions, and believes DNA technology could be employed in the police force to assist in the identification of leaders of the militants in the troubled Deep South.

Pornthip said she had no regret of any sort for the sake of the safety of majority of Thai people.

Revisiting Malaysia this month

On Teoh Beng Hock’s case, Pornthip said the family’s lawyer Gorbind Singh had contacted her, but whether she would come to Malaysia would depend on whether the court would approve the application by Teoh’s family.

She admitted that it was inconvenient at this juncture for her to divulge any detail of her recent court statements in Kuala Lumpur, as the case is still on trial.

However, she said she would go to KL for a forensic conference in mid-November.

On Teoh’s mysterious death, Pornthip said boldly that it shared a lot of similarities with many of the suspense cases she had handled earlier on.

She cited an example in which a woman was found hanging herself at home in Bangkok not too long ago. According to post-mortem reports, the woman hanged herself to death, but after two weeks, the victim’s son and other relatives suspected foul play and requested Pornthip to conduct a second post-mortem to find out the truth behind her death.

After reading the post-mortem reports, Pornthip found some irregularities that did not match scientific evidences.

Generally, those hanging themselves to death will present injuries on the upper part of their throats, but this female victim had obvious injuries further down!

Moreover, Pornthip also found other injuries around the victim’s body, including bruises on her arms.

As a result, she felt it necessary to revisit the site. Besides, the victim was said to have hanged herself with a certain type of cloth that did not match the actual situation.

Consequently, Pornthip got the victim’s husband to explain these irregularities, but her husband was unable to provide proper answers to her questions.

Pornthip said collecting evidences was of paramount importance in solving a case.

Solving a mysterious death

The next example that Pornthip cited, was the case in which she conducted a second post-mortem on a victim for the first time.

The victim was a Thai man who died under police custody.

According to post-mortem reports presented by the police, the victim died at about 11.00 p.m. while under police custody.

The family of the victim sought Pornthip’s assistance three months later, and wanted her to exhume the victim’s body for a second post-mortem, during which four apparent injuries and bullet shells were found on the body.

Besides, there was undigested food in his gastrointestinal tract.

Pornthip said the victim took his meal at 4 p.m., and this was contradicting the police’s claim that he died at 11 p.m.

Six months later, the Thai Legal Association issued a statement that the victim’s blood was found in the bush.

The victim had apparently been killed by someone else before his body was moved to another location.

Unfortunately, the case was put to an abrupt stop without any solution, as a member of the victim’s family met his doom during the process of finding the truth; and for their own safety, the family agreed to accept a 3-million baht “reconciliation” offer from the police.

Pornthip said helplessly, “Thailand lacks the say when it comes to human rights protection.”

Tracking down the bombing mastermind

As soon as Pornthip gave her statements in the court in KL on Teoh Beng Hock’s case, she took the next available flight to Bangkok, packed some simple luggage, and rushed to the turbulent South on military aircraft.

Bombing attacks were launched again in the southern part of the country known for chronic religious conflicts, and Pornthip had to rush there to collect evidences related to the bombings in order to help the police track down the mastermind.

On 26 October, a policeman was killed while another injured during a gunfight with some suspcious figures at a Muslim hamlet in Yarang district. A man suspected of involvement in a string of criminal acts also perished in the crossfire.

This was yet another incident believed to be related to the bombings in southern Thailand.

Since the first episode of violence broke out in January 2004, the situation has never improved to this day, and has instead deteriorated. According to unofficial statistics, at least 3,900 lives have so far been claimed by violent assaults in southern Thailand. Buddhists, Muslims, teachers, policemen and even estate workers have not been spared.

When Pornthip rushed in from Bangkok on 27 October, she was followed by Guang Ming Daily executive editor Tan Soon Keat and a photographer.

Taking the lead in collection of evidences

Intelligence Unit personnel and policemen visited the site on the third day after the incident, and proceeded to the four provinces in the south on a fact-finding mission.

Investigations were carried out from 8.00 a.m. to 4.40 p.m. at a few suspicious residential units as well as vacant lands.

Collection of evidences was led by Dr Pornthip herself with the assistance from the IU personnel and local policemen. Among the devices employed were GT200 long-distance explosive/narcotic detector, portable explosive detector, gloves necessary for smear tests, etc.

After the operation, all collected samples were sent to the IU administrative centre at Pattani camp for further analyses.

Searching for solutions

Forensics is a kind of science in which pathologists and forensic doctors make logical deductions from their DNA findings in a bid to get the solutions for unresolved criminal cases. Such scientific deductions begin with the collection of apparent and easily visible evidences such as splinters, debris, fingerprints, teeth and blood stains.

During the exclusive interview with Pornthip Rojanasunan, Guang Ming Daily followed her deep into the troubled South and witnessed how she moved about swifty among several predominantly Muslim villages looking for clues for a string of violent outbreaks in the region.

During the three-day, 72-hour expedition, we followed Pornthip and a large team of armed military policemen to tread the soil of southern Thailand, where violent outbursts and assaults could erupt anytime.

Thanks to the mysterious death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, Malaysians get to know this fashion-conscious legendary woman.

This exclusive interview with Pornthip Rojanasunan was conducted at the forensic administrative centre in Pattani.

The sensational side of Pornthip Rojanasunan

While Pornthip Rojanasunan is highly praised for her skills in examining the dead bodies, she is super blurred when it comes to romance.

She wasn’t even aware that her husband Viroj, currently working with a bank, was falling in love with her for two whole years until her mother reminded her.

To test his him out, Pornthip went to his bank to deposit 100 baht during his busiest time of the day, and wanted him to help her with a whole lot of forms.

Although the romance started a bit tough, the couple eventually tied the knot on Valentine’ Day after dating each other for only half a year.

Pornthip agreed that she was of the passive type when it comes to romance. She only realised that her husband had been secretly falling for her after about two years; and even her marriage had been hastened by her father.

Whenever Pornthip came to the bank to deposit money 27 years ago, Viroj had always showed his positive and caring side. This lasted for the subsequent two years without Pornthip realising it.

Mother’s reminder

Pornthip never really realised that Viroj was secretly in love with her, and it never crossed her mind that this gentle and softspoken young man could have been her prince charming.

She told Guang Ming Daily, “Indeed, I must thank my mum for that.”

It all started in 1982. For the sake of her daughter’s future, Pornthip’s mother went against the family’s Buddhist traditions to seek guidance from a female fortune-teller.

This highly respected fortune-teller said the daughter would become a doctor in the future, and that her future husband was always around the corner and had shown up in front of her all the while.

Testing the guy

All Pornthip remembered was that two guys had seriously gone after her, but never expected anyone like that soft-spoken bank teller called Viroj. She knew the guy was a very serivce-oriented person and she thought it natural for him to be kind to her.

So she conducted a few tests on her courter, going to him during his busiest time of the day to get him to help her with forms and remittances just to put his sincerity and patience to test.

“The funniest part is, each time I only brought a hundred baht.”

Perhaps that is what we call yen fen (predestined romance); they started dating each other soon afterward, and tied the knot after six months. Pornthip was 28 at that time, her husband three years older.

They chose to marry on Valentine’s Day so that the busy couple could easily remember their anniversary.

Making her daughter’s dress

On Viroj, Pornthip believes true love can overcome everything.

Her husband is currently working as an auditor for the bank. Despite the vast differences in their work natures, the couple has been getting on pretty well.

Both her husband and daughter appreciate the effort she has put into her forensic work. However, her safety has always been the greatest concern of her daughter, therefore each time she travels to the South to carry out her field work, she will take special note of her daughter’s advice.

When asked whether she felt she was a good wife and mother, Pornthip said she would try her best to cook for the family during the weekends, unless she was tied down by her work. She said she even made dresses her daughter herself.

On reincarnation

As a devout Buddhist, Pornthip believes in rebirth. However, she said if given a choice, she would prefer not to be reincarnated as a human being in her next life, as she did not want to see deaths keep repeating over and over.

Buddhism has given Pornthip a positive perspective on life. This, coupled with the strict family education she has been instilled with since she was young, has made her realise the importance of right attitude and thinking.

Strict family education

Eldest in the family, Pornthip has two younger sisters and one younger brother. Since she was very young, her father Sathorn and mother Pissamorn had been instilling her with the right attitude towards life.

Unfortunately, her mother died of cancer at the age of 53, while her father passed away of old age at 77.

The interviews she has been having with Thai magazines and electronic media over the past few years have always been focused around her works of collecting evidences and examining dead bodies. She seldom talked about her family or romance.

However, Pornthip gave in to Guang Ming Daijly’s sincere requests, and shared some of her previously untold stories from a more sensational aspect.

Miscarriage during first pregnancy

Pornthip has had the unhappy experience of miscarriage during her first pregnancy, and the couple had to wait for another ten years before they got their only daughter, Yaravee.

Pornthip admitted that her husband had wanted to have a lot of children, but the miscarriage forced them to wait for another ten years before they could finally get their daughter, who is now 17.

“Actually the second pregnancy came as a miracle, and I believe it had something to do with the pledge we made to the late King of Thailand during a vacation in southern Thailand. Viroj asked for a child and soon I found myself pregnant again.”

To commemorate her unborn child, Pornthip and her husband also nicknamed their daughter “Ten.”

Yaravee is currently pursuing a course in interior design.

Never gives up hope

Despite the fact that she was down with cancers twice, Pornthip has never given up hope in fighting her illnesses.

Pornthip has the family history of cancers. Her mother suffered from cancers twice, and eventually died of lung cancer at the age of 53.

Because of this family history, Pornthip has been very careful with her diet. However, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 42. She took the initiative to go for cancer tests the following year, and was found to have also contracted colon cancer.

During her depression, Pornthip did not show her vulnerable side in front of her husband and daughter. Instead, she talked about cases of colon cancer survivors.

Fortunately, she sought early treatment and the cancers were soon brought under control.

After recovering from her illnesses, Pornthip has changed her dietary habits, and would not ingest any food after lunch. Besides, she also stays away from pork, chicken, beef and other foods.

Taking solace in Buddha

When Pornthip was giving her statements at the court in KL recently, she was constantly seen with a backpack.

But her backpack is quite unlike what other women would carry, full of cosmetics and sort.

Inside her backpacak are all kinds of chains and rings which are related to Buddha.

Besides, there are also pictures of the Holy Priest as well as the late kings of Thailand.

Pornthip: Big shots could be behind the heinous crimes in Thailand’s Deep South

Pornthip Rojanasunan knows that dangers are lurking at every corner, yet she moves ahead without fear. All she wants is to find more clues and scientific evidences to help the police solve the bombing cases in Thailand’s troubled south, and bring those responsible to book.

In a predominantly Buddhist country, Islamic outfits in the southern provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have been engaging in separatist movements over the decades with the ultimate motive of establishing an independent Islamic state.

Since January 2004, in particular, the chaos in southern Thailand has taken a drastic change for the worse, and so far more than 3,000 lives have been claimed by the separatists’ violent acts and bombings.

According to reports, the Thai government has openly denied the involvement of aggressive Muslim militants in these attacks, and does not rule out the possibility that a series of violent crimes in the southern part of the country have been caused by the clash of smuggling or prostitution gains between local crime syndicates and corrupt officials.

Pornthip said she did not rule out the possibility that the suspects of violent and bombing attacks in southern Thailand had been associated with local crime syndicates, and that some could have even been sponsored by politicians.

During the three-day interview with Pornthip in southern Thailand, Guang Ming Daily found that during a raid into a shophouse for evidences of crime, some baby napkins believed to be counterfeits were unexpectedly recovered. These napkins had been brought in from a neighbouring country.

Pornthip said the sources of counterfeit napkins would be investigated by the police, but initial investigations showed that these napkins, believed to be made in Indonesia, could be related to the suspects involved in violent and bombing attacks in the region.

She believed these militants might need sufficient funds to finance their operations, and it was therefore possible that they had paired up with local crime syndicates, or been involved in smuggling and other illegal activities to rake in lucrative profits.

“As what I understand, it is very likely that they have been sponsored by the politicians.”

A thorn in the flesh

As the director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), Pornthip is well aware of the turmoil in southern Thailand, and has assumed the all-important task of setting up a DNA database in the South.

Pornthip is a well-known, authoritative woman in the South, and has been widely respected by the military. She has been commanding each and every fact-finding mission there, with scores of military officers and bodyguards taking instructions from her.

That said, the Thai police do not seem to go too well with her, and few police officers are willing to work with her.

As such, the military has been her major partner in southern Thailand, and its Intelligence Unit at Angkayut military camp in Pattani has helped her search for more clues to resolve the criminal cases.

A self-sufficient workstation

Pornthip’s workstation looks very much like any dilapidated building. Despite its simplicity, the workstation is well equipped with some of the most sophisticated technology.

There are about 20 other people working with her in this office, and from the way these people carry out their job functions, it could be seen that they have all been very professional and dedicated. They ride their motorbikes to collect all the necessary information themselves, and even spend their lunch hours working at their office.

The office is located inside the military camp and is itself a self-sufficient place.

We put up in double-storey house about 1km from Pornthip’s office. There are grocery stores selling all kinds of stuff, mainly for supply to the military.

Besides, there are also hawker stalls and temples.

(Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Guang Ming Daily)