Dr U Maung Maung Taik

The Pioneers of Medicine in Burma #7

Dr U Maung Maung Taik (Forensic Medicine)

(by dr thaneoke kyaw-myint)

...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

In Sayagyi U Ba Than’s short biography, I mentioned that Saya was not only the senior consultant surgeon but also the Police Surgeon at the Old Rangoon General Hospital. It was at this time that a young doctor was posted as the Assistant Medical Superintendent, who also was the ex-officio assistant police surgeon. This young doctor was Saya U Maung Maung Taik, MBBS (Lucknow), BL (Rgn) who was to become the very first full time forensic medicine expert in Burma.

Saya graduated with MBBS from the University of Lucknow in India in 1944 and was appointed to the Rangoon General Hospital. Together with Sayagyi U Ba Than, Saya U Maung Maung Taik was one of the doctors who performed the autopsy of the Arzarni (Martyrs) in 1947.

He went to New Scotland Yard and its affiliated hospitals in London, in 1952, for his training in forensic medicine, which made him unique in being trained not only in forensic sciences but also in police work. He also has the distinction of being the very first medical doctor to do a law degree in Burma. (Of course now, there are many MBBS HGP, MBBS RL in Burma). This was at the time when my father was the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Rangoon. For some unknown reason, the Academic Board of the University of Rangoon had decided that medical doctors could not take the BL degree. As Saya was doing medico-legal work at that time in 1953, on an exceptional basis, he was given dispensation and was allowed to attend the classes and graduated Bachelor of Law in 1954. My father jokingly told him on his graduation, "Dr. Maung Maung Taik, you are most welcome to join my chambers, in case your current profession does not work out." Many years later, Prof. Alan Watson, Regius Professor of Forensic Sciences, University of Glasgow came to Burma to explore the possibility of post-graduate qualifications in forensic medicine. Saya asked me to arrange for Prof. Watson to visit my father’s chambers, as he would like to meet and talk to senior lawyers in Rangoon. Prof. Watson did meet my father, his partners and his juniors in his chambers. My father reminded Saya of the still valid offer made to him at the time he graduated with the law degree twenty years ago.

There are two anecdotes about Saya that I would like to relate: both when our class was in the Final Part 1. It was in the autopsy room of RGH, while he was teaching us of aberrant but what could be considered as normal behaviours in man. He gave himself as a good example of the OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). He related that when he was a medical student in India, he would dutifully write to his mother and his girl friend every Saturday (he clarified that this girl friend was not the lady whom he married). The letters would be written, put into envelopes, stamped and taken to the postbox. Before he would put the letters in the post box, he started having doubts every weekend as to whether he had put the right letter into the right envelope. So, he would tear open the envelopes to check the letters that were already in appropriate envelopes. But, as he had torn them open he had to go back to his room for new envelopes, steamed the torn envelopes to get back the stamps, put the letters in and then the same would happen each time he arrived at the post box every weekend. It took him at least two or three times to finally have the letters posted each weekend. Saya’s words, his body language and his demeanor when he told this example of OCD had stuck in my mind. When I watched Anthony Hopkins with OCD in "As good as it gets"; I was laughing more at memories of Saya rather than at Anthony Hopkins and Helen Hunt.

The other anecdote was a lesson from him not to take everything he taught literally. The case was a case of manslaughter when one villager had stabbed his friend after a fight. They were fishing using "hmane" or harpoon or trident to catch fish. They fought and his friend ran away and had a harpoon thrown into his back. The police from Twante who brought the body was present at the autopsy. Saya asked whether the victim was alive when the police arrived. The answer was classic. With his training from New Scotland yard, saya was a full time lecturer at CID from the time of his return from England to the time of his retirement. The policeman clicked his heels, saluted and answered," Sir, I did exactly as you taught us in CID. The victim was still alive but I did not disturb the evidence. I just cut off the bamboo pole to make it easier to move the victim but unfortunately, the person died on the way to Rangoon." He said it in earnest, looking proudly at the bamboo handle cut close to the metal trident. Saya asked again, "Did any attempt was made to remove the weapon and provide treatment?" The same answer, "No sir, we followed what you taught us. Never disturbed the weapon stuck in the body and left it as it were and brought him to Rangoon." When the policemen saluted and left, Saya looked at us, "Remember, all of you, you must not always take and follow literally what I teach you. Especially in forensic medicine, a lot is based on common sense." There are now so many soaps on TV – CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS. Whenever I had time to watch any of these episodes, memories of Saya flooded my mind.

Saya worked for nearly forty years as a police surgeon, head of the department of forensic medicine of both Institute of Medicine as well as Institute of Medicine II, initially, as legal adviser to the government. He was unique in that after forty years of police work, he left with a reputation totally unblemished by any accusations or allegation by anyone of partiality or injustice. I wonder how many of us can claim to such a reputation of integrity and honesty.

Although, he never quoted Sherlock Holmes, after each medico-legal autopsy, and conclusions had been drawn, the quote from Sherlock Holmes given above is very much a truism of his teaching to his students.

Saya is 88 years old now. A group of young doctors who called themselves IM 1 Retired Teachers Fund, graduates of 1993 from IM 1, recently went to pay homage to Sayagyi, someone whom they had not been taught by nor ever met before in their lives. It was a very touching gesture of our culture of respect for the elderly.

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