The girl’s mother, Han, walked in to the morgue in Taiwan to find her daughter incomplete – before the medical examiner told her they simply chucked them in her chest cavity to save time
An autopsy error left an already-grieving mother distraught after her seven-year-old daughter’s tongue and throat were reattached in the wrong place.
The blunder came to light after the little girl’s body had already been embalmed – a process designed to keep the body preserved longer. The body of the little girl, 7, who was identified by her 44-year-old father’s surname, Lin, was found alongside that of her dad in Fangyuan Township, Changhua City.
The story has sparked fury in the country, with residents demanding answers over such a devastating error.
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The young girl and her father were found dead inside a car in a local car park, with police later confirming they had died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
On July 15, Lin picked up his daughter, but shortly after the mother, Han, was unable to get through to them. Five days later on July 20, she contacted his mum, who told her they’d gone to the father’s home in a different region.
But when they couldn’t be found, Han raised the alarm with the police. Just a day later, she faced the heartbreaking task of identifying their bodies.
On entering the morgue, she noticed that her daughter’s tongue and throat were completely missing. She admitted she was told the body parts would be removed, but she assumed they would be returned before the funeral.
“I really didn’t want my daughter to suffer any more, but the medical examiner didn’t tell me the throat and tongue would be removed during the autopsy”, a deeply distressed Han revealed.
“It was only when we were cleaning the body the day before burial that we discovered they were missing. This devastated me once again. I delayed the funeral to make my daughter whole again.”
The coroner later explained that they had to remove the remains to test for toxins that would help verify the cause of death. However, they said they didn’t have enough time so put them in the chest cavity instead.
Han is demanding accountability over the blunder, and has now managed to meet with local authorities who agreed to reposition the body parts in their proper place.
“Finally, my princess can be on her way, complete and pretty,” Han said.
Speaking to local media, she spoke of how happy her daughter was to graduate from her kindergarten just days earlier. She recalled how she wore a shimmering yellow princess dress with silver heels, the same outfit Han plans to have her wear when she is buried.