Aug 14, 2012

Vietnam - Vietnam should have autopsy done on Cathy Huynh: lawyer

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An autopsy on the body of Canadian backpacker Cathy Huynh, who died mysteriously while vacationing in the beachside city of Nha Trang, has been performed in Canada after her family refused an autopsy in Vietnam.


The question now raised is how the autopsy performed in Canada works in terms of legislative values in Vietnam, where investigations in the deaths of Cathy and her American traveling companion, Karin Bowerman, are still underway.

According to Vietnamese lawyer Truong Xuan Tam, under Vietnam’s code of criminal procedure, when the cause of death remains unknown, local investigative agencies are responsible for carrying out official death investigations regardless of whether the deceased’s family agrees or not.

This means that local authorities, according to lawyer Tam, should have carried out an autopsy on Cathy Huynh even if her family objected, to determine the cause of death and whether it was a crime.

If criminal behavior is noticed during the investigation, the investigators have to file criminal charges against people involved, Tam said.

Since Vietnam and Canada have yet to reach judicial agreement, autopsy results in Canada are not necessarily recognized in Vietnam. Instead, the results are considered reference material for Vietnam authorities to conduct death investigations, Tam added.

No evidence this was a crime

On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Ky, vice chief of the police department in Nha Trang which is in charge of probing into the deaths of the two foreign tourists, confirmed with Tuoi Tre on Monday that they have handed over the body of Cathy Huynh to her family in accordance with laws.

“The Canadian General Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has sent a diplomatic note requesting us to not perform an autopsy on Cathy, and her family made the same request, wishing instead to bring her intact body home for a funeral. Therefore, we respected them,” Colonel Ky explained.

Ky added that Nha Trang police have yet to notice any signs of a criminal case regarding their deaths, and there is no evidence that the two female tourists were in conflict with anyone in Nha Trang.

Nguyen Van Khang, head of the People’s Procuracy in the central province of Khanh Hoa, told Tuoi Tre that in cases, especially in relation to foreign nationals in which the family or embassy require no autopsy on the deceased, the Vietnamese government will satisfy their expectation on the condition that no complaints are filed.

Khang added that disentombment is considered if any “criminal behavior” is noticed during the death investigations, but he did not know how this works in case the body is buried abroad.

Dr. Pham Xuan Thong, director of the Forensic Examination Center in Khanh Hoa Province, said an internal autopsy is needed to identify the exact cause behind the deaths of the two tourists, something that remains unknown.

According to Thong, it’s mysterious that they died two days apart though they had arrived in Nha Trang the same day and had the same symptoms before their deaths.

Dr. Thong, who has 27 years of experience in forensic examination, admitted that he knows of many cases in which foreigners have died of drowning or identified diseases, and their family has wished for no autopsy on them.

However, Thong added that this is the first time he has heard that “an autopsy is not required on an abnormal death”.

Karin’s samples not yet sent to Hanoi for analysis

In related news, two weeks after Karin died, her medical samples still have not been sent to Hanoi for analysis (as of yesterday afternoon). Karin, as opposed to Cathy Huynh, underwent an autopsy in Vietnam.

Dr. Thong said that police in Khanh Hoa have not yet transferred the fees for transporting Karin’s samples to Hanoi.

“We are also anxious to know the test results of her samples. However, if the samples are preserved for a long time, it may affect the results despite the fact that the samples are well preserved,” Thong said.

As for the 26-year-old Cathy Huynh, an autopsy was conducted on her at Hamilton General Hospital by the Ontario Coroner’s Office on Saturday (local time), according to a report by the Hamilton Spectator.

Huynh Thi Huong, mother of Cathy Huynh, told Tuoi Tre that when her daughter’s body arrived at Pearson airport in Toronto on Friday night, local heath officials required a blood test on her body and the family agreed.

The deceased’s family said her body was placed at the Friscolanti Funeral Home on Barton St. E. from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m on Sunday for visitations.

Regional Coroner Dr. Jack Stanborough confirmed with the Hamilton Spectator that Cathy’s body was examined Saturday, but samples still need to be tested on tissues and some of the results may take a while to come back.

However, he admitted that there are some limitations in conducting the autopsy because of “the way the body was prepared for transportation back to Canada” and because “the Coroner’s Office does not have jurisdiction in foreign countries to ask for an investigation.”

Stanborough hopes the autopsy will shed some light on Cathy’s death.

TUOITRENEWS


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