A perfectionist in every way

Joey set her sights on forensics since a young age as she grew up on a diet of Hong Kong dramas centred around police and forensic work. Working in different laboratories after graduating from Polytechnic and then University, she finally reached her ultimate goal to join HSA when an opening came up.

She tells us more about her passion for forensics.

1. Tell us about your journey to joining HSA.

I wanted to join forensics since I graduated from Poly. However, there were no openings for forensic jobs then. So I did some laboratory work before taking my degree. My interest in forensic science remained strong and when HSA had an opening two years later, I grabbed the opportunity and applied.

Actual forensic work is in fact quite different from that portrayed in dramas. I found that what is shown on TV is not realistic and can be too dramatic.

2. Can you tell me more about one area of your work that is interesting?

There’s a class of drugs known as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). These drugs have constantly evolving chemical structures. We have to be one step ahead of the drug syndicates, make predictions of possible emerging NPS, keep up with the challenges of testing these drugs and be on top of new information and new techniques.  

3. How about your challenges at work?

I would like to share two memorable challenges:

Setting up the Asian Forensic Sciences Network Forensic Alert Portal was the first challenging project I took up. This portal enables information exchange with colleagues from regional countries in Asia. Prior to this, my only experience was setting up a one-page website during my Poly days. It was thus quite challenging as I did not have the experience or an IT background. I had to do my own research to come up with a suitable design and work with personnel from different countries. I also developed training materials and conducted multiple training sessions for all the members from different countries.

Weight measurement is one of the most crucial steps in illicit drugs analysis. As the officer-in-charge of the analytical balances, I worked with my team to employ a software to create a data management system for the analytical balances, which digitalises all the weighing procedures. This new approach established a secure database which gives full traceability and accuracy of the weighing data collected, and at the same time eliminates calculation and transcription error.

The digitalisation project was very challenging as we had to customise many programmes to suit the unique needs of our lab where we weigh different types of exhibit ranging from powders, tablets, liquids to vegetable matters. Some of the difficulties encountered include troubleshooting technical issues and communication challenges with the overseas programmer. I also had to learn how to write some coding and try out programming on my own.  We finally ironed out all the kinks and rolled out this new workflow.

4. What kind of qualities are most important for forensic work?

One should be meticulous to ensure that the analytical results are accurate. Another quality is the ability to look at the big picture. When issues crop up, we cannot just tackle that issue but will look at a wider perspective and think about how to solve the issue as it may impact other areas.

One should be not afraid of change as the world and drug trends are always evolving. This could be in terms of analytical procedures or digitalisation. We have to adopt the mentality that change is constant. 

5. Have you always been meticulous, or has this job trained you to be meticulous?

I would consider myself a perfectionist. Since joining the lab, I now have the habit of counter-checking everything, even in my personal life. For instance, when I buy something online, I will always double check that the items added to the cart are the correct items. This comes from the need for absolute accuracy in our job.

6. What gives you the most job satisfaction? 

My job satisfaction comes from resolving any issues that arise, and helping the laboratory to upgrade ourselves, such as in the area of digitalisation. One such useful tool that I always make use of is the advanced functions of Microsoft Office applications. 

7. Do you have any unusual case or exhibit to share? 

I remember there was once where we received Ecstasy tablets which were different from the usual. They were made of fibre-like substances, possibly highly compressed tissue papers. For these exhibits, we had to spend a substantial amount of time to view all the tablets under the microscope to look out for fibrous material, before proceeding to the appropriate analytical procedure.

There was another occasion where each of the Ecstasy tablets of an exhibit was found to contain more than 10 drugs whereas a traditional Ecstasy tablet usually contains just one or two drugs. For this case, the thickness of my case notes hit my record high of about 35 times more than the usual!

Related Articles