CSI in the real world

The "CSI" television series is inspiring for many people. Investigations, crime scenes and the quest for truth might be interesting and exciting, and for some people it's more than that.

When Sujitra "Ant" Boonma was an undergraduate in physical therapy at Khon Kaen University and had trained in hospitals, she knew that what she was studying was not what she desired. When she graduated she therefore started to seek what she really wanted. She chose to study further but again found that was not for her.

One day a friend pointed out a job vacancy for science graduates to work as forensic scientists at the Central Institute of Forensic Science in the Justice Ministry. Ant decided to grab this as a career choice immediately, even if she didn't know much about the job. Eventually she passed a written examination and an interview and won the job as a forensic scientist.

She had finally found her life's path.

Ant started her job in crime-scene investigation as a forensic scientist, helping to reveal or prove facts based on scientific evidence. She has to go to crime scenes as soon as possible after a police request so she has to work both day and night shifts. She sometimes has to assist doctors in mortuaries.

"Violence, blood and death are all part of the job. They no longer bother me, but I am extremely afraid of ghosts," she said with a laugh. "Maybe time will eventually cure this fear."

Her initial trepidation soon became an understanding of the facts of life. She is now familiar with death and decay.

"I have even worked with the bodies of women who had plastic surgery on their chests. When they die it's just lumps of silicone. It does not matter how beautiful we are - when we die we are all the same. The decomposing process works the same on everyone," said the 28-year-old.

"Some days I don't feel that I want to dress up, apply cosmetics or even iron my clothes. Things like that don't seem to matter."

She initially worked in a centre for crime-scene investigation. When the role of forensic scientists in the civil-justice system expanded and a department for the identification of missing people was founded at the end of 2004, she moved to the new department.

Her position is as a forensic scientist but her duties are like the forensic anthropologists in international forensic-science organisations. Because she does not hold a degree in forensic anthropology she cannot sign the results of an investigation. Her work has to be confirmed by forensic pathologists and Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand, the deputy director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science.

"There is still no forensic anthropologist in Thailand, so it's working and learning at the same time. We have to be eager to develop ourselves all the time. Like detectives - we have to see through a criminal's tricks," she said.

Meanwhile the institute is constantly training its staff. Beyond seminars and training held almost every month at the institute, she and other forensic officers have to attend training and seminars held by foreign professionals overseas every year.

Her daily life runs between the office, crime scenes and the laboratory. In the office she has to receive missing-person reports and try to match them with unidentified bodies in the institute's database. Sometimes she is asked to identify bodies or skeletons found at crime scenes, or at the sites of disasters such as plane crashes, fires and other tragedies resulting in the loss of life and mutilation of bodies. In these cases she and the team have to get to the scene as quickly as possible.

"We collect everything we think are physical remains such as skeletons, skulls or teeth. Sometimes there are almost 100 bags when we come back to the lab."

In the lab, she has to check whether it's human remains and if so which parts of the body. "It's like a jigsaw. You have to assemble the pieces and also determine sex, age, medical history and other things."

She's always available. She never turns off her mobile phone. She has to be ready for work all the time. Nobody knows where and when disaster or crime might occur. Whenever she gets a call from the institute she has to pack her bag and travel to the scene.

"To work as a forensic scientist you have to like doing things for others. You must not feel you work hard but get less pay or that you put a lot of effort in but don't get thanks," she said.

However, she admits that she is sometimes anxious because her work is involved with many aspects of criminal cases, and the results of the work may serve either the defence or the prosecution. The result has to be very accurate in the interests of justice.

"For me, every day is rewarding. I always tell myself 'do your best' because mistakes are big issues. They can have big effects on many people."

"It's not like a customer finding a fly in his soup. The restaurant owner has to take responsibility, but it doesn't really matter. If I make a mistake it can damage the reputation of my organisation, my seniors, our professional backup, defendants, prosecutors and their relatives. It can spread, so I have to be good on details," said Ant.

Reflecting on her career, she said through it she had found herself and the things she wants. Even though working as a forensic scientist does not allow an extravagant life and sometimes she is exhausted, every day of work brings her satisfaction.

Suwicha Chanitnun

The Nation