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No signs that cyanide caused Mirna's death, says pathologist
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Australian forensic pathologist Beng Ong (second right) testifies on Sept. 5 during a hearing for murder defendant Jessica Kumala Wongso at the Central Jakarta District Court. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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ustralian forensic pathologist Dr. Beng Ong testified for defendant Jessica Kumala Wongso on Monday at the Central Jakarta District Court, saying that according to a health report he had received, Wayan Mirna Salihin did not show symptoms of being poisoned by cyanide.
Beng, who works for Queensland Health’s Forensic and Scientific Services, cited medical literature stating that cyanide taken orally would take effect between 30 minutes and several hours after being consumed. It is a different situation with cyanide in the form of gas, which can kill someone in seconds.
“If cyanide is taken by mouth, the rapidity of death is slower because the ingested poison has to go into the stomach before it is absorbed. The cyanide will be neutralized by liver tissue,” Beng told judges.
(Read also: Criminologist’s statements are all lies: Jessica)
Mirna collapsed five minutes after drinking a Vietnamese iced coffee that allegedly contained cyanide. Beng said a huge amount of cyanide would have had to be found in the victim's gastric system. In one case of cyanide poisoning, doctors found 1,000 milligrams of the substance in a victim’s gastric system.
However, according to the toxicology report, there was only 0.2 milligrams of cyanide in Mirna’s gastric system. Forensic doctors also only indicated that cyanide poisoning had occurred based on erosion in Mirna’s stomach.
“The erosion in Mirna’s stomach might be caused by post mortem change. The little amount of cyanide found in her stomach may also come from post mortem change,” Beng said.
Beng said an autopsy would have established the cause of death more accurately. However, an autopsy was not conducted on Mirna’s body, with investigators simply taking samples from her organs. (evi)
