Govt may trade corpse for safety of nine staff
Published on: Thursday, March 16, 2017
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is "looking into all possibilities" to secure the freedom of the nine Malaysians currently stranded in North Korea.Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this when asked if the government would consider trading the body of Kim Jong-nam with North Korea in exchange for the safe passage of the Malaysians home.Formal negotiations between Malaysia and North Korea over the release of the Malaysians began on Monday, Zahid confirmed. ADVERTISEMENT "We are working thoroughly to get them (the nine) out of Pyongyang," he said. Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed on February 13, when Malaysian police say two women smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at KLIA2. The murder sparked a diplomatic tit-for-tat between Malaysia and North Korea.Malaysia refused North Korea's request to release the body without an autopsy and investigation, and then expelled the North Korean ambassador over his remarks questioning the investigations.North Korea then banned nine Malaysians – three diplomats and their six family members – from leaving the country, in what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described as taking Malaysians "hostage".Malaysia said it will deport 50 North Koreans for overstaying their visas, despite its recent ban on North Koreans leaving the country.ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, the identity of Jong-nam was confirmed through his son's DNA sample. Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said the samples were obtained according to forensic procedures.
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Jong-nam's body was embalmed Sunday to prevent further decomposition.It is understood that this was a better option, considering the other body-preservation methods for cadavers, offered by government agencies, would involve soaking the body in formaldehyde.The team learnt that the procedure would have cost anything in the region of RM20,000. Bodies stored in morgues are often kept at between 2°C and 4°C. While the morgues are usually used to keep bodies for up to several weeks, they do not prevent decomposition.Unclaimed and identified bodies handled by forensics are usually kept at between -50°C and -10°C. At these temperatures, the bodies are completely frozen and decomposition is very much reduced.In the case of Jong-nam's body, those handling it in the course of investigation were forced to thaw and rethaw the body.The last time the body was brought to the autopsy table, it had already displayed signs of decomposition.An expert said that despite having been embalmed, there would be no problems should there ever be a need for a second post-mortem to be carried out.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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There would usually be two ways of preserving a cadaver – through "arterial embalming" and "open-body embalming". "Arterial embalming doesn't require us to cut open the body... in Malaysia, it normally takes about 10 to 15 days (before the body starts to decompose), but we also have to periodically check on the body.