Thirteen years after an unidentifiable body was pulled from the sea, Keelung police identified the remains as belonging to a New Taipei City man surnamed Chou (周), enabling his family to bid him farewell.
A recent review of National Police Agency records revealed an unsolved case from 2008 in which remains were salvaged from the Port of Keelung’s eastern No. 8 pier, said Hsu Yao-pin (許耀彬), director of the third division at the Keelung City Police Department’s first precinct.
Harbor police at the time were unable to find any identifying markers or trace of an incident on security footage, nor did the man’s fingerprints produced a match in missing person records, Hsu said.
As no one came forward to identify the body, the Keelung City Government interred the man in the unmarked graves section of Nanrong Public Cemetery (南榮公墓) under a tombstone reading “Anonymous Man A069,” he said.
The body remained there for 13 years, Hsu added.
When re-examining the features of the John Doe, Hsu said that he discovered that his left middle finger had previously been severed, leaving only one joint.
Hsu then expanded the search using this unique characteristic and found a match, reopening the investigation, he said.
The match was an older man surnamed Chou who lived in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) and had been missing for more than 13 years, he said.
A DNA sample taken from Chou’s son was then sent to the Ministry of Justice’s Institute of Forensic Medicine, confirming the identity of the body, Hsu added.
Hsu, discovering that the man’s family could not afford a proper funeral, put Chou’s son in contact with the Goodwill Charity Association, which helps families in need arrange funerals for their loved ones.
Once the family sets a date, the association is to assist them in excavating, cremating and interring the remains, Hsu added.
When praised by the family for his efforts, Hsu simply responded: “It is really nothing, just doing my job.”
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