Fortun questions PNP, PAO autopsies on Kian delos Santos

Noted forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun on Thursday questioned the previous autopsies performed on the body of teenage drug war victim Kian delos Santos.

In a press conference, Fortun said she was able to retrieve a bullet from Kian's neck even after the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) already conducted their autopsies on Kian's remains.

"It (bullet) is somewhere in the neck, hindi ko lang alam kung bakit nandoon [I don't know why it's there]," she said.

"This is really important because this can be connected to a gun which was in possession, which was fired by someone. For how many years, five years. And this is useless if you don’t have something to compare it with," Fortun added.

According to her, she asked for the guns which might be involved in the incident but she was told that they were burned during a fire in a police station.

Fortun said although the PNP only made an incision on Kian's body, there are indications that it was not really opened up and checked.

"Kunwari lang pala, hiniwa lang ang balat… Ito 'yung apparently incision na ginawa nila na sinasabi 'ay autopsy' tapos may hiwa rito. May hiniwa ka pero hindi mo tinuloy. So bola-bola lang ang hiwa mo," she said.

(It was just for show. There was an incision and they cuts in the skin here and there, but the autopsy was incomplete.)

Fortun also questioned PAO’s autopsy result for supposedly failing to determine if the five holes found on Kian's body were entry or exit points of bullets.

Based on Fortun's autopsy, there is a gunshot wound on the left ear shot at close range and another one on the left temporal bone, which both exited through the right side of Kian's head.

“This is very eyebrow-raising. May nakita siya, apart from the head wounds, na nasa middle back area left… Walang sinabing exit. Hindi rin binuksan apparently. So the bullet was still there,” she added.

(This is very eyebrow-raising. Apart from the head wounds, they also found another one in the middle back left. There is no indicated exit point for this wound. The body was not opened apparently, so the bullet was still there.)

In a report by Mariz Umali on "24 Oras," a relative of Kian expressed dismay over the recent findings.

“Well yung kasinungalingan inulit, ibig sabihin akala namin yung autopsy tama, tugma. Sinasabi nila na gumagana daw yung hustisya, may sistema, eh ano ito?" said Randy Delos Santos, Kian’s uncle.

"‘Yung sa sistema pa lang ng pagsusuri sa bangkay, may pagkukulang na autop-silip sabi nga ni Dr. Fortun,” he added.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they are in communication with Kian's family, and the documents related to the case are already being prepared.

"We're just doing the procedure for the victim's family to come forward to the NBI and to have dialogue with them for their testimonies to be heard," he said.

GMA News Online has reached out to the PNP and PAO for their comments, but they have yet to respond as of writing.

Kian, then 17 years old, was shot dead on August 16, 2017 after he allegedly fought back during a police anti-drug operation in Caloocan City. However, CCTV footage showed policemen dragging him to a dark alley where he was later found dead.

A year after the incident, three police officers responsible for the killing were convicted of murder by a Caloocan City court.—With a report from Sherylin Untalan/KBK, GMA Integrated News