Yang Jih-sung

Yang Jih-sung
楊日松
Born	(1927-11-23)23 November 1927 Kōkan, Byōritsu, Shinchiku Prefecture, Taiwan, Empire of Japan (today Gongguan, Miaoli, Taiwan)
Died	23 November 2011(2011-11-23) (aged 84) Da'an, Taipei, Taiwan
Citizenship	Empire of Japan (until 1945) Republic of China (from 1945)
Education	National Taiwan University
Scientific career
Fields	forensics

Yang Jih-sung (Chinese: 楊日松; pinyin: Yáng Rìsōng; 23 November 1927 – 23 November 2011) was a Taiwanese forensic scientist who became known as "Taiwan's Sherlock Holmes" for a career that spanned nearly five decades.

Career

Born in Miaoli County to a family of Hakka descent on 23 November 1927,[1] Yang earned a degree from the National Taiwan University College of Medicine. At his graduation, Yang was the only member of his class to have been trained in forensics, a field he sought to pursue after seeing his brother jailed due to a coerced confession and a friend's subsequent wrongful conviction on charges of theft. Yang solved his first case while still a student in 1949. Due to Yang's efforts, the survivor of a suspected double suicide by hanging later admitted to murdering his girlfriend and forging a suicide note.[2] He also assisted in solving the 1977 death of Chang Ming-fong [zh]. Suspect Lin Hsien-kun sexually assaulted Chang before killing and dismembering the victim,[3] resulting in Taiwan's first homicide involving dismemberment.[2] The 1990 death of Iguchi Mariko [zh] remained unsolved until the next year, when the body was discovered and Yang joined the case.[2] For his work, the University of Tokyo granted Yang an honorary doctorate.[4] In 1993, Yang found that Republic of China Marine Corps Captain Yin Ching-feng [zh] had been killed before an unknown suspect attempted to cover up Yin's death by throwing the body into the ocean. The investigation launched by Yin's murder subsequently uncovered the La Fayette-class frigate scandal which dated back to 1991.[2][5]

Yang Jih-sung was called to investigate the 1997 murder of Pai Hsiao-yen,[6] and retired the next year. Over the course of his career, Yang Jih-sung allegedly handled over 30,000 bodies and was frequently compared to Sherlock Holmes and Bao Zheng. He was also known for his refusal to wear protective gear on the job.[2] In retirement, Yang became a consultant for the Institute of Forensic Medicine.[4] In 2004, he was named to a commission convened to investigate the 3-19 shooting incident.[7] Yang died of colon cancer at Cathay General Hospital in Taipei on his 84th birthday in 2011.[8][9]

One of Yang's children, Yang Wen-hsien, later participated in a new investigation into the Yin murder.[10]

References

1. "Taiwan's top coroner Yang Jih-sung passes away, aged 84". FTV News. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
2. Han Cheung (20 November 2016). "Taiwan in Time: Taiwan's Sherlock Holmes". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
3. Buchan, Noah (23 August 2014). "Taiwan's 'murder'and 'suicide' houses". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
4. Tang, Hsiao-tien; Huang, Maia (23 November 2011). "'Taiwan's Sherlock Holmes' dies at 84". Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Alt URL
5. Hsu, Brian (7 August 2000). "The murder of Yin Ching-feng: a history". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
6. Blatt, Jason (29 April 1997). "Grief as kidnap girl, 17, found dead in ditch". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
7. "Pan-blues selecting their shooting investigators". Taipei Times. Central News Agency. 1 September 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
8. "Forensics king Yang dies". Taipei Times. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
9. "Yang Jih-sung, the 'Sherlock Holmes' of Taiwan, dies age 84". China Times. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
10. Hsu, Brian (7 August 2000). "Yin investigation a matter of money". Taipei Times. Retrieved 27 November 2016.