TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A case of mistaken identity at the Hsinchu City Funeral Home nearly led wrong body undergoing an autopsy.
The incident involved a 30-year-old Vietnamese male named Nguyen (阮), who was scheduled for autopsy at 2:00 PM on the 18th. However, due to an error on the part of the funeral home, the body of a 39-year-old Indonesian man named Aman was mistakenly sent to the autopsy room, reports UDN.
Investigations revealed Nguyen from Vietnam and Aman from Indonesia were foreign workers who died under unusual circumstances and required autopsies to determine the cause of death. When the forensic pathologist conducting the autopsy discovered the discrepancy in the deceased's information he immediately halted the procedure.
The Hsinchu City Funeral and Burial Services Office has stated that the mishap occurred due to a mistake made by an external contractor responsible for handling the bodies, and they will impose financial penalties as stipulated in their contract. They added that they will review and improve their procedures in the future to prevent such errors.
A cousin of Nguyen raised concerns about the body, finding something "off" but hesitating to question the authorities directly. When the forensic pathologist noticed the discrepancy between the body and the provided information during the autopsy preparations, Nguyen's cousin intervened and questioned the situation.
After a thorough examination and comparison of records, it was clear that there was a grave mistake during the identification of the body. Although both deceased individuals were foreign workers, there were notable differences in age, complexion, and physical appearance between them.
Furthermore, their assigned freezer numbers were 26 and 46, which were not easily confused or consecutive digits. The alarming mix-up has raised questions about the handling and verification processes for bodies before autopsies. It has also resulted in the temporary suspension of the planned autopsy and unnecessary inconvenience for the families involved.
Experienced forensic experts have noted that in previous autopsies, the identity of the deceased is always confirmed multiple times when the body is removed from the body bag. The mix-up that nearly led to the wrong autopsy was likely caused by a failure on the part of staff to confirm the identity before placing the body on the autopsy table.
Hsinchu City Funeral and Burial Services Office Director Hong Kun-wu (洪坤戊) stated that, traditionally, it has been the responsibility of the forensic pathologist's assistant to coordinate the retrieval and thawing of bodies from the freezer adding, the funeral home did not interfere with this process. It is believed that a miscommunication in this process led to the external contractor thawing the wrong body with the funeral home and becoming aware of the mistake after the fact.
Hong Kun-wu added that, in response to this incident, they would review their notification procedures. They are considering establishing a LINE group led by the funeral home to coordinate communication between the forensic pathologist, the funeral home, and the external contractor.
A person surnamed Cheng (鄭) in charge of the external contractor responsible for managing the freezer emphasized that in the six years they have been managing the freezer, nothing like this had ever occurred before. Each body bag and body bracelet has a QR code for verification, but in this case, a mortuary assistant failed to confirm the identity properly and inadvertently took the wrong body out, Zheng said.
Recognizing the need for improvement in this aspect of their operations, the Funeral and Burial Services Office has instructed the establishment of a comprehensive mechanism, and they have also communicated with the judicial system to enhance their processes in the future.