Flies don’t lie
June 29, 2022 Having the skills to differentiate the false from facts is crucial in crime scene investigations and court trials.
This is where forensic science techniques like forensic entomology come in. Classical forensic techniques to estimate post-mortem intervals (PMI) become less accurate after a period of time when blood, tissues and fluids are no longer available for analysis. Instead, insects become powerful tools to observe the progression of decomposition and estimate the time that has passed since death.
TAN Yong Jie, Year 4, who is majoring in Life Sciences and taking Minors in Forensic Science and Public Health, gives us a fascinating peek into how the study and application of insects can provide evidence in medicolegal investigations.
In his Final Year Project (FYP), Yong Jie collaborated with Board-Certified entomologist Dr HEO Chong Chin to investigate the effects of altitude in semi-urbanised / urbanised environmental conditions on the attraction of necrophagous flies, in particular flies from the Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae families, towards cadavers.
He initiated and worked on new research methodology to conduct pioneering experiments on fly attraction across four different altitudes, and devised an experimental weather box setup for fly trap containment and protection.
Yong Jie is proud to share that his studies have helped to bridge a gap in existing entomological research that did not take into account Singapore’s urban and environmental settings such as elevation and weather conditions.
He said, “I was able to prove that there was strong statistical reduction in fly abundance with increasing elevation.” This provides a valuable foundation to the application of forensic entomology, and is especially useful with the prevalence of high-rise buildings in Singapore where crimes involving deaths occur at elevated positions.
Yong Jie adds, “I gained understanding of the need to account for variables dependent on the condition and location of the crime scene. This enables me to better appreciate the relevance and importance of the role forensic entomology plays in solving crimes.”
Find out more here.
