Equipment and other utensils

2.8.4 Biological tracesbiological evidence

Biological traces are samples of traces from human bodies collected for the purpose of investigation. They may be collected from the scene of crime, from a deceased person’s body, from surviving victims and from suspects. DNA can be extracted from any of the samples and used for comparative analysis. Biological traces, investigated by forensic scientists come from bloodstains, saliva samples and, for example, from cigarette butts or chewing gum, semen, excretions and tissue samples, such as from skin, nails, teeth, bone or hair. Samples are processed to isolate the DNA and to establish the origin of the samples. 178 As in many crimes, they may prove important in cases of traficking and allied crimes 179 and in particular when the purpose is sexual exploitation. An example is Maurice Richter Germany, 180 in which the defendant was convicted of rape and traficking on the basis of victims’ testimony and biological traces, his DNA being found on one of the rape victims. An example of other biological evidence sometimes used in traficking cases is physical examinations of persons in order to ascertain if they are minors. This kind of evidence has been used in Thailand when victims asserted they were adults but looked like minors and for example in Sarawan and Kongsamre Thailand. 181 In this case 20 victims of traf- icking were rescued, who all had genuine passports from a neighbouring country identifying that they were above 18. Ten were sent to undergo biological testing to ind out their real ages and it was discovered that one was under 15 years of age while the others were over 15 but under 18 years of age. The defendants were convicted of traficking in persons com- mitted by an organized criminal group and other charges.

2.8.5 Traces of objects

Sometimes traces of objects may prove useful in proving a case. For example, traces of drugs may contribute to prove that victims were drugged; traces of gunpowder may con- tribute to prove victims were threatened with guns. 182 As seen in a previous subsection addressing banknotes and marked money, traces of ultraviolet powder on the hands of trafickers paid in marked money, were part of the evidentiary foundation of a case from the Philippines. 183

2.8.6 Witness demeanour and appearance

Witness demeanour is a species of “real evidence”, as it allows the court to view the witness’ appearance and behaviour irst hand and form an impression, without regard to the content of the story he or she is telling. In this way, it differs from testimonial and documentary 178 See http:deinitions.uslegal.combbiological-traces. 179 See UNODC Anti-human traficking for criminal justice practitioners, module 7: Crime Scene and physical evidence examinations in traficking in persons investigations,2009, pp. 4-7, available at http:www.unodc.org documentshuman-trafickingTIP_module7_Ebook.pdf. 180 District High Court Berlin, 539 Kls 3114 255 Js 56814, 11 March 2015. 181 Criminal Court, Sentence delivered on 2012-10-08. The case is available in the UNODC Human Traficking Case Law Database Case No. THA010. Additional information on the biological testing was supplied by a Thai expert. 182 See also UNODC Anti-human traficking for criminal justice practitioners, module 7, previously cited, p. 7 referring to micro-traces of ibre, paint, glass, soil, seeds, fragments of metal. 183 Maycabalong Philippines; see Index of all cases. evidence which relate to content. A number of cases illustrate the importance of this kind of evidence. In Urizar Canada, 184 the court noted the victim’s demeanour in court in its assessment of her credibility, and mentioned that the experience of the trial and its duration caused the victim to have some episodes of disorganization. She would start to cry, her memory lapses increased and she would have to request an adjournment. The court’s inal assessment was that the victim was credible, and her demeanour provided one foundation for that assessment. Other cases in which victim demeanour is mentioned as part of the evidence are Muñoz Argentina 185 in which the victim’s demeanour provided support for her testimony. On the other hand in R. v. Ng Canada 186 the victim’s “evasive” demeanour served as a piece of evidence opposing her credibility. Similarly in Giuseppe Aserio Germany, 187 the court held that the victim, who was barely able to speak and cried a lot during proceedings, was overly dramatic and therefore not credible. In I. Austria 188 the defendant was convicted of human traficking under aggravating circumstances 189 and other charges for buying and selling at least ive women from Bulgaria to be exploited in prostitution. Among other evidence, the court considered the defendant’s emotionless and detached demeanour in court when he replied to the accusations. It was the Court’s impression that this assisted in proving the apparent ease with which he earned his money as a pimp. The importance of victim demeanour: a prosecutor’s impressions An Australian expert who prosecuted the Wei Tang Australia case a attested to the importance of victim demeanour in court: “It made an impression on the court that the victims, who had been prostitutes for many years, had dificulty in describing the sexual acts they were called upon to perform. It could be seen that they were ashamed. Some were angry and some burst into tears which were clearly ‘real’ tears. Thus, during the course of her evidence, one victim openly wept when she recounted how she had been physically inspected by the accused in the presence of others as if she was cattle, and again when she recalled the accused telling the others present that she was ugly compared with the other prostitutes at the brothel. Several jurors seemed moved”. a Previously cited; see also the list of all cases provided in Index of all cases. For detailed facts, see the in-depth analysis in section 5.3 of the Case Digest. Situations in which the victim’s appearance was used as supporting evidence include cases in which the defendants had victims tattoo their bodies to denote the defendants’ ownership over them. This use of tattoos to denote ownership in traficking cases has been reported in various countries such as the Netherlands. 190 184 See Index of all cases. For detailed facts, see the in-depth analysis in section 5.2 of the Case Digest. 185 See Index of all cases. 186 See Index of all cases. 187 See Index of all cases. 188 41 Hv 1114g Vienna High Court for Criminal Matters, Austria. It is to be noted that this is a court of irst instance. 189 The aggravating circumstance was commission as part of a criminal association. 190 For more detail, see section 3.1.12 on “signs of ownership”.