Estimated post-mortem intervals (PMI) of pathologist and entomologist in Malaysia: a comparison.

T forensic entomological specimens were examined from the Medical Entomology Unit, Institute for Medical Research, hospitals, and the police department, in Malaysia. Three species of cyclorrphagic flies were identified as Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart (the hairy maggot blowfly), C. megacephala Fabricius (the oriental latrine fly) and 1 specimen of Hermetia illucen Linnaeus (the black soldier fly). C. rufifacies and C. megacephala were the most common species found in cadavers from different ecological habitats, as noted similarly by Lee et al [1]. The methods used by the entomologist and pathologist for estimating postmortem interval (PMI) were significantly correlation, at 0.01 level. Scatter plot analysis confirmed that maggot length increases over time until days 4/5, after which it starts to decrease over time (6-8 days). This could be due to the maggots’ change to the puparium stage. It was concluded that entomological techniques are a useful forensic tool for estimating PMI.