Jack was stunned, then recalled what he had said the night before, and couldn't help but laugh. He truly owed this guy a favor.
Without the urban legend Ma Xidao had uncovered, they might not have been able to quickly revise the profile and identify the true culprit as one of Li Jianyu's ex-girlfriends.
This meant the FBI might not have been able to rescue Lauren Barrett in time, adding another innocent soul to the list of victims killed by Liu Xiubin.
"You can tell at a glance whether the wounds on the body were inflicted antemortem or postmortem,right?" Ma Xidao's smile faded, his expression becoming somewhat serious. "That's a bit exaggerated, but most of these cases are easier to tell, eh?" Jack was barely finished speaking when he was dragged out by this guy.
"Please, please, please. The deceased just turned 20. It's such a shame for him to die so young and unexplained."
"Don't you Koreans have forensic pathologists who can do this kind of thing?" Despite his complaints, Jack was actually curious. He reluctantly got into Ma Xidao's SUV and drove towards the hospital.
Of course, the main reason was that it meant he wouldn't have to spend the entire afternoon shopping with the girls.
"There are only about 40 forensic pathologists in all of South Korea. It's not like every FBI case can be handled with special care," Ma Xidao grimaced.
"Only about 40? Are you sure?" Jack was a little incredulous. He thought the US had fewer than 500 full-time forensic pathologists, but South Korea's figure sounded even more outrageous.
"Doctors can make more money, no one would choose to be a forensic pathologist," Ma Xidao said, seemingly unconcerned, or perhaps numb to such matters.
Through their casual conversation on the road, Jack finally understood the Korean forensic system: it was essentially nonexistent.
The country still lacks independent, specialized legislation related to forensic autopsies. While there are some related provisions, they're mostly scattered across the Criminal Procedure Act, the Physician Act, the Medical Treatment Act, and other statutes.
So, strictly speaking, there's no such thing as a professional forensic pathologist in South Korea.
Typically, after receiving a report of an unnatural death in South Korea, police will not only secure the scene but also report it directly to the higher-level police station. The higher-level police station will then contact the police physician at the local hospital. The police physician is not a forensic pathologist; rather, they are a physician employed by the police station. Accompanied by a
police officer, they will perform a simple external examination of the body and issue a "Report of Unnatural Death" which is then sent to the higher-level police station and the local prosecutor's office. Based on this report, prosecutors will determine whether an autopsy is necessary. Only after the prosecutor approves and relevant documents are submitted to the court will the court issue an "Autopsy Permit.
" Only after receiving the "Autopsy Permit" will the police station transfer the body to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation for an autopsy.
With two documents and six relevant departments involved, and a tedious process, even if everything goes smoothly, most bodies still take 48-72 hours to be autopsied after the report is filed.
"Okay, I thought the situation in America was bad enough, but you in South Korea are such an eye-opener," Jack said, speechless.
Ma Xidao was rather unconvinced. "Eh? Don't say that. Neighboring Japan is about the same. Their population is twice ours, and they only have a little over 100 medical examiners."
Thinking of the vast Eastern nation's 20,000-plus medical examiners, Jack was speechless. It seemed there was a reason mystery novels and manga were still so popular in Japan and South Korea.
"Tell me about the deceased." Jack knew he wasn't in need of a medical examiner, but rather wanted to leverage his FBI credentials to come up with a pretext for admitting him to the morgue. Even if the higher-ups knew, they wouldn't dare say anything.
"A little girl, just turned 20, fell naked from the 8th floor of a hotel in Gangnam District this morning. There were no surveillance cameras or witnesses.
The body landed on its back, so I don't think it was suicide. However, Prosecutor Kim won't perform an autopsy unless there's sufficient evidence, so I thought of asking you to come take a look."
Ma Xidao's brows knitted together, a look of deep sorrow on his face.
Jack smiled teasingly, "My favors are rare, and you're willing to use them on a complete stranger like this?"
Ma Xidao looked at him in surprise. "Ashiba, what nonsense! That little girl was only 20. Her beautiful life had just begun, and now it's over. Shouldn't she get justice?"
Koreans have a unique way of calculating age. March is the cutoff point each year: those born before March are considered two years old, and those born after March are considered one year old. Twenty is the legal age of majority, so in reality, the deceased would have been only 18 or 19.
"Okay," Jack shrugged. "Just for what you said, this favor doesn't count. From now on, we're friends. There's no need to be petty between friends."
Leaving the morgue, Jack removed his mask and gloves and began cleaning under the tap. Ma Xidao, who had been waiting impatiently at the door, hurried over.
"What's the situation?"
"I'm not a professional forensic doctor, and it's not convenient for me to perform a direct autopsy. I can only perform a simple external examination. The injuries on the deceased include head injuries, spinal cord injuries, and limb fractures, which are consistent with a typical fall-related death."
Jack's words made Ma Xidao's face darken.
"But your judgment is not wrong. Considering the way the deceased landed and the amount of bleeding from the fractures, I tend to believe that she was likely dead before the fall."
"Are you serious?" Ma Xidao instinctively grabbed Jack's arm.
"I won't waste any time on the technical jargon. Just get a toxicology test done on the deceased as soon as possible, and also a gastric analysis. The true cause of death is likely cardiac arrest or organ failure caused by alcohol or drug overdose.
She also likely had sex before her death. You'd better investigate the identity of the person who checked into the hotel with her."
Jack strained his arm muscles to resist Ma Xidao's grip; the guy was incredibly strong.
"Oh, sorry." Ma Xidao quickly released Jack's arm and walked out without a backward glance, pulling out his phone as he went.
Jack's attitude nearly irritated him, and he quickly ran after him. "Hey, aren't you going to take me home?"
"Ashiba, take a cab yourself. I have things to do. I'll treat you to a farewell drink tonight." Ma Xidao pulled out a few "10,000 yuan bills" and shoved them into his hand, his perfunctory attitude as if he was no longer useful.
Jack checked the time. It wasn't even 4 p.m. yet, and wouldn't he still have to go shopping with him?
"Forget it, forget it. Just consider it a gesture of kindness on my part. Where are we going next?"
(End of this chapter)